Archives for Social Movements
My journey from direct action to Green Party leadership candidate
When I left university in 2007, no-one was talking about the climate and ecological emergency. The Labour government were proposing a third runway at Heathrow Airport and there was very…
7 things I’ve learned as a climate activist
I have been active in the climate justice movement for almost seven years to the day. I was part of environmental campaigns at college, but it really started for me…
From Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia – it’s time to end Britain’s lethal arms peddling
Politics has its cycles, not just elections, but events that come around again and again. But that doesn’t make it repetitive. No event occurs twice in the same political environment,…
I was wrongfully arrested with Extinction Rebellion
Solicitors advise people not to write articles like this. They could “prejudice your defence”, which is why you won’t find many. I have just returned from two days of protest…
This part of Colombia’s rainforest could soon be turned into a rubbish dump
In what could be an allegory for our times, an area of rainforest in Colombia, considered one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, could soon be turned into…
Taking on climate myths on GB News
I was astonished and dismayed to come across a debate on GB News between Rupert Read and the ‘Global Warming Policy Foundation’s’ (GWPF) Andrew Montford; the debate was entitled 'Should…
We need direct action to overcome the government’s inaction on decarbonising transport
After Extinction Rebellion’s XR actions in 2019, where I was arrested, parliament declared a climate emergency and passed the net zero legislation. Climate change raced up the political agenda. I…
Can central banks get their act together on the climate crisis?
The last few weeks have seen a rush of central banks - under pressure from both activists and their own research - taking steps to limit their climate impacts. These…
Drax and the biomass industry are “obstructing climate action”
Thanks to decades of climate campaigning including direct action, public education and legal challenges, it is no longer controversial to say we need to stop burning coal for electricity. We…
Vision of a police state in a Cornish village: Extinction Rebellion at the G7
“Can I politely ask you to stop moving?” The tone of the officer, barking at a group of young pedestrians, was anything but polite. Along the empty coast road through…