Extinction Rebellion activists will be ramping up the pressure on parties.
Extinction Rebellion has launched an online election kit in the lead up to the general election to help supporters with their activism during the period.
The 15-page document has “collated resources” and offers up ideas for local XR groups operating across the UK.
Extinction Rebellion does not endorse any politician or political party, but the group hopes that the kit will help campaigners to push the climate crisis to become the “defining issue” of the election.
“XR is beyond politics as usual – we are a non-party political movement devoted to fighting the CEE (Climate and Ecological Emergency),” the kit states.
“We now need everyone working together to increase our chances of survival. A national citizens’ assembly will help us achieve this so its a key focus of this Election Rebellion.”
Extinction Rebellion have three key demands: for the government to tell the truth “by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, for the government to act now and reduce emissions to net-zero by 2025, and for the creation of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
The kit lays out that an action will take place every day in the 12 day lead up to the election – the ’12 days of Christmas’.
No specific details of action are laid out in the document – with group spokesman Rupert Read explaining that people will have to “wait and see.”
“We want to be pressuring politicians and candidates all around the country to do the right thing and prioritise climate action,” Read added.
As well as protest action, the kit urges members of XR to partake in local action.
Whether it’s having an active presence at hustings, posting flyers, or asking MP candidates to explicitly support the Three Demands Bill, the kit provides a whole host of ways members can get involved with the general election and spread XR’s message.
Meka Beresford is a freelance journalist. Follow her on Twitter.
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3 Responses to “Extinction Rebellion launches election campaign”
Julia Gibb
First I fully support the need for urgent action. However I struggle to understand this simplistic approach.
Governments need to address many complex issues and therefore the associated budget demands. We can for example a party have a party that meets the demands outlined in the article but does so by privatisation of the NHS to fund that change.
I am always wary of single issue ( no matter how important) pressure groups. I want a party that has a clear plan outlined. The one that says we fund the climate change plan by scrapping HS2 and Trident replacement. The HofLs will also be scrapped and weapons of force projection (Aircraft Carriers/Astute Class submarines etc will be phased out.
Give me a costed plan that politicians are locked into in.
Sylvia Duffy
I largely agree with the above comment. We have to distinguish between parties on other issues as well as climate change. For example the Tories will make any promise you like but continue to support only the rich. Labour party at the moment is locked into too many differing policies. Our present dual system corrupted by an extreme Right wing press has poisoned the whole system. In the long term we need proportional representation which would give more power to the Greens who are the only ones likely to carry out the required actions to counter climate change.
Tim Rossiter
The most immediate problem is whether we get a Tory or Labour government. If it’s Labour their existing policies are much greener than the Tories right now and I believe they would be much more open to the evolution of green policies and ideas when in power. They are far from perfect, we still have the everlasting growth nonsense, but I’d rather trust a leader with an organic allotment than one who fairly recently said he wished to leave “no stone unfracked”.
There are also issues of truth, accountability, democracy and the right to protest etc. and again I’d rather trust someone with a lifetime of radical activism than someone who prorogues Parliament.
So lastly, for me, it comes down to tactical voting. I think whatever it takes to get Johnson out is more important to me than the virtuous feeling of having voted green (except in Brighton and maybe Bristol West) and then enduring four more years of environmentally destructive Tory rule.