On Monday 25 March at 6am, two Just Stop Oil supporters fly-posted the headquarters of the Exeter Labour Party with posters and printouts of a letter they sent to parliamentary candidate Steve Race last week. From our point of view, the redecoration is an improvement. Fortunately, unlike the shocking events Just Stop Oil saw last week, cops made no arrests.
Just Stop Oil’s ‘Changing Rooms‘ comes to Exeter
The redecoration of Exeter Labour Party’s HQ by Just Stop Oil is part of a broader campaign by the group. Recently, supporters have delivered similar letters to MPs across the country, including to the homes of Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry (where cops arrested one activist) and to Annaliese Dodds during a fundraising dinner.
All these letters asked the MPs to commit to leaving the Labour party if, within six months of forming government, they fail to revoke the Tory oil licences granted since 2021.
Race had sent a response which refused to commit to this pledge due to a stated commitment to a “Labour Party manifesto which will have been worked on and collated by many thousands of people from across the Labour Party and the Trade Union movement”. The Labour Party manifesto has not been seen by members of the public, and it’s not known whether it has been written yet.
So, Just Stop Oil made sure that Race had fully understood the contents of its original letter – by plastering it across his office:
An improvement, surely? Well, the Labour Party and Race may disagree:
🚨 BREAKING: Just Stop Oil Supporters Flypost Exeter Labour HQ
🔥 2 people covered the office of @steve_race, Exeter Labour candidate, in posters after he refused to commit to resigning if @UKLabour fail to revoke Tory oil and gas.
🦺 Sign up and help us Stop Tory Oil —… pic.twitter.com/2Vq74g0CzP
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) March 25, 2024
Keeping the Labour Party accountable
One of those who took action was Jordan, a psychology student at the University of Exeter. She said:
Today I’m fly-posting the Labour offices for Exeter. Last week I delivered a letter to Steve Race asking him to commit to resigning if Labour does not revoke the Tory oil licences within six months of being elected. He refused. This means that Exeter Labour will remain complicit in the murder that is going to be caused by the Tory oil licences.
People are already dying because of the climate crisis. People in Libya last year were dying by the thousands, and this is only going to be made worse by Tory oil licences.
We’re going to see the effects of it here in Exeter too. We’ve already seen the flooding that started, and the extreme weather events are only going to get worse. If Exeter Labour really cared about their constituents, they would have made a commitment to stopping Tory oil. We are here to keep them accountable, for the safety and health of their constituents and the world.
No arrests – this time
Police officers attended the scene and spoke with the action takers but made no arrests.
This is in stark contrast to events last week. As the Canary previously reported, cops arrested two Just Stop Oil supporters – one of whom is a vicar – for ‘conspiracy to commit burglary’. They did this off the back of a supposed Daily Mail ‘investigation’. You can read more on that here.
Meanwhile, the action takers in Exeter had a friendly discussion with a Labour staffer, who remarked:
I completely agree with your right to protest.
Make sure Keir Starmer doesn’t find out – as he’ll probably have the staffer suspended, or worse, nicked.
Featured image via Just Stop Oil
