The group is calling on the government to act to isolate all leaky homes in the UK by 2030. As I reported, 62 activists took part in the protest in front of Parliament, 30 of whom are stuck in the road. The police had to forcibly expel the participants.
This form of protest has been condemned by House of Commons Speaker Lindsey Hoyle, who said blocking MPs from Parliament is “disrupting democracy” and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who said it was “unacceptable and completely counterproductive”.
In less than two months, activists from Insulate Britain have already staged more than 20 protests, often involving sitting on the roads and sticking to them.
This week alone, they performed it in London, Birmingham and Manchester. So far, more than 800 have been arrested during the protests, although they belong to the same people who were arrested several times, because after their release, they were involved in subsequent actions. As reported by Sky News, 161 people have participated in the road closure work so far.
In a statement released Thursday, the Insulate Britain group noted that thanks to these measures, public awareness of itself and its claims has increased dramatically.
“Insulate Britain is one of the most successful campaigns in history. Within three weeks, our name had grown from zero to 77% of the population, attracted huge media attention and started thousands of press, social media and home conversations across the country. And that counts. We explained The government’s refusal to work to isolate homes is cowardly and vengeful, and its refusal to protect our country and our children from the climate crisis is genocide and treason.
On the occasion of several previous protests, there were physical and verbal clashes with drivers, and instances of drivers getting angry at roadblocks, with drivers themselves taking activists off the roads without waiting for the police.
