Hundreds took part yesterday in what Just Stop Oil have billed as “One Last Action”, marching through the streets of London on a pre-planned route which took in the Royal Courts of Justice and ended outside the Shell HQ on the South Bank.
Partly in response to legislative repression instigated by a government beholden to its rich and corporate sponsors and lobbyists, and partly in celebration of tangible achievements, JSO are hanging up their hi-viz, but don’t think for one moment that it marks the end of a several year period of civil resistance in the UK and across the world.
As Chrissy tells us in our interview, the community and network built around this movement is still strong, and a first priority is to continue to provide protesters with powerful support through an ever more repressive justice system. There have been thousands of arrests since 2022, and nearly 200 people have spent time in prison, with eleven currently held as “political prisoners”.
Co-founder Roger Hallam should have been released on electronic tag (Home Detention Curfew), but in a move more reminiscent of an authoritarian state, despite prison overcrowding he has been notified his release is being denied simply because of ‘press interest’.
As to the future, there seem to be two strands of continued resistance emerging.
The first is a push towards a new form of democracy – one that truly represents people, not corporations and elites. This is a grassroots community-building process of assemblies nationwide, creating a parallel democratic structure to challenge rising fascism, militarisation, and approaching climate, environmental and societal breakdown.
At the same time, since new laws threaten imprisonment for even minor offences of protest, the long-held belief in owning and being accountable for actions is under pressure. New movements such as Shut The System are beginning to target the lobbyists and the financial centres that fuel the crisis, and history would suggest that unaccountable sabotage of this sort is inevitable as repression grows stronger.
Yesterday’s march was among other things a celebration of success. Just Stop Oil’s initial demand was that the government end any new exploration for oil and gas, and currently, with the help of the Horse Hill ruling and other developments, that has been achieved.
We know that resistance works and it’s needed now more than ever, so we’re just getting started. – Just Stop Oil spokesperson.
