62 people from Insulate Britain have blocked two roads around Parliament Square in Westminster this morning.  Two groups of people are sitting in the road with banners on Parliament Square near the Peers’ entrance to the Houses of Parliament and on Bridge Street.

Earlier Insulate Britain released the following statement:

“We have to move quickly. What we do in the next three to four years, I believe, will determine the future of humanity”. Sir David King, 2021.

Insulate Britain has been one of the most successful campaigns in history:  our name recognition went from zero to 77% of the public in three weeks, we have attracted enormous media interest and we have started thousands of conversations, in the press, on social media and in homes up and down the country. Importantly, we have exposed the government’s refusal to act on home insulation as cowardly and vindictive and their refusal to protect our country and our children from the climate crisis as genocidal and treasonous.

This happened not because we blocked motorways but because we blocked motorways to demand action on the crisis of humanity: climate breakdown. We presented the government with a dilemma because they cannot allow the disruption to continue but jailing people for demanding action on the climate ahead of a major UN Climate Conference is not a good look for the host country. 

We forced the right wing tabloids to display their cowardice and stupidity for all the country to see. They say they want climate action but fret about the cost and are scared of a public backlash. They are snowflakes compared with the brave people sitting in the road forcing the government to face up to its responsibilities and get on with the job of insulating Britain’s homes.

This government refused to do the right thing. It couldn’t even bring itself to make a meaningful statement we can trust on insulation, never mind start the enormous task of retrofitting 29 million homes. As will become clear after COP26, our government has no intention of taking the necessary action to protect its people. It has broken the social contract –  the unwritten agreement in which we agree to obey the government’s laws and in return it will protect us. This is treason, and anyone in the civil service, police and criminal justice system who aids this government’s illegal actions is complicit in genocide.

What we say to the bystanders who look on in fear and denial is this: look at what we did. A hundred people captured the country’s attention for weeks. Think what 1000 people can  achieve. Come and join us and we will change the tide of history. What more meaningful thing can you do with your lives, at this time when everyone and everything you love is in mortal danger? 

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