Major Labour donor to stop funding Just Stop Oil
Major Labour donor to stop funding Just Stop Oil
Businessman Dale Vince says the group's tactics have become "counterproductive" for the green cause.
Mr Vince, a major Labour donor, said further action was "pointless" because the government had shown it would drill for oil "come what may".
God that’s depressing.
Further disruption, he added, would help "feed the Tories' culture-war narrative".
Fair point but still depressing.
Instead, he said, he would divert funding to the anti-Conservative vote.
So no longer specific to halting oil production at all then. Sigh.
From the quotes you've selected it sounds like funding just stop oil is entirely pointless into the Tories are out of power. Hence refocusing funding towards that goal?
Yeah. I had selected those quotes because they highlight what a shit situation we’re in. I get the logic; it’s just depressing that the logic is sound.
However, it remains to be seen how Labour will react to Just Stop Oil. I think they’ll be less blunt but will pretty much treat them the same way. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Yeah it's a coherent argument at least.
As depressing as it is to admit, the group need a rethink of their approach. Making art pieces their targets seemed like a good strategy at first (art is wealthy peoples' business, the art is never damaged, its guaranteed to get front page coverage) but the reaction from the general public was near wholly negative. The Tories absolutely do weaponise it, too.
I don't have the answer, but I can recognise that these forms of protest are losing their edge in this day and age. Add in that protesting is now basically illegal, I just don't see why activists should continue to pour energy into them.
Making art pieces their targets seemed like a good strategy at first (art is wealthy peoples' business, the art is never damaged, its guaranteed to get front page coverage) but the reaction from the general public was near wholly negative.
In terms of a business, sure. Art is expensive. But what got me and a lot of people like me upset is the destruction of the art that then deprives the rest of us the pleasure of enjoying it. And we're not wealthy. We just like looking at art every now and then. Or watching a play every now and then. Not as an investment vehicle, but something to enjoy once a year.
Richard Hallam the founder of XR and Just Stop Oil was interviewed on the BBC recently and his view was crystal clear. He wants to wage class war on the rich. He thinks that "rich people will kill a thousand million poor people" in an act of genocide perpetrated by the government and the media. His words. (The interview was absolutely wild check out Political Thinking podcast and have a listen if you don't believe me. He even threatened to jail the journalist interviewing him.)
Destroying shared culture as a way to stick it to the establishment puts a lot of people off his climate goals.
But the art is never damaged. The pieces on display are in protective displays designed to weather a lot worse than food or glue. Not only that, they are often just replicas of pieces rather than the originals. Your point hinges on you being (actually) deprived of something, when you are not.
This is intentional - you are (figuratively) deprived of something to highlight how others have been deprived by the actions of the fossil fuel industry.
Assuming you mean Rodger Hallam? I don't want to ascribe malice but how well can you understand him if you got his name wrong?
I may disagree with XR and JSO out of principle but pretending like Hallam's comments are a declaration of war is absurd. He clearly feels that the poor are already the victims of class warfare and sees their actions as a justified response. It's clear to me he sees people like you and I as part of the ignorant masses, oblivious to the path of destruction the fossil fuel industry has carved through the lowest stratas of society.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
But he added that the government - which granted 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences over the summer - had "made clear that no amount of protest will sway it".
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also sought to highlight Mr Vince's support, saying it showed "eco-zealots" from Just Stop Oil are "writing Keir Starmer's energy policy".
Labour has rejected suggestions Just Stop Oil influences its policies, and defended receiving donations from Mr Vince, saying he is a "perfectly legitimate person" to accept money from.
Labour has pledged to block all new domestic oil and gas developments, but says it will honour any licences in existence at the time of the next election, expected next year.
In a statement, Just Stop Oil told the BBC it was grateful to Mr Vince for his "amazing financial and moral support over the past year".
The group said civil resistance "really works" - and it believed Labour had "no intention of stopping" the oil and gas projects the government was "furiously rubber-stamping".
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