ACTIVISM
Has Extinction Rebellion really quit?
Extinction Rebellion has dominated headlines by smashing windows, blocking roads and dropping banners since bursting onto the scene in 2018. But now its activists are pausing the disruption to try and make friends.
A dramatic statement announcing ‘we quit’ made global headlines at the beginning of the year. It showed XR putting the brakes on roadblocks ahead of ambitious plans for a 100,000-person protest outside Parliament in April. This wasn’t despair – it signals a tactical shift as XR tries to build bridges with other social justice movements.
In doing so, there are signs of how the climate movement in the UK is starting to widen out. Mass protest has played a huge role in making climate change one of the issues considered most important by UK voters. Half of UK adults think the UK is not doing enough to reduce emissions – compared with just 18 per cent who believe the government is doing too much.
“For a lot of people, there’s awareness of climate catastrophe like there never has been. That’s been a success of disruptive protest. But the climate movement isn’t growing on a mass scale. People aren’t necessarily coming out, so we want to try and find out how we can get people to come,” says Alanna Byrne, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson.
Who needs winning over? It’s not just angry cabbies or Conservative politicians. The obvious allies when building a
