Last night, I spoke at the high spirited demo Climate Rush, organised by anti-airport expansion campaigner Tamsin Omond. Hundreds of activists descended on Parliament to demand urgent action to protect our environment for future generations. The protest was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Suffragettes’ rush on Parliament to demand the right to vote, and marked what I hope will be the start of a creative campaign of direct action to urge the Government to take its responsibilities on climate change seriously.
Only the disproportionate level of policing at the event threatened to overshadow proceedings, with the authorities clearly judging the protesters - many of whom were dressed in full Victorian garb and handed out homemade fairy cakes - to be such a threat as to justify an uncompromisingly aggressive and intimidating stance.
