Activists have occupied Labour Party HQ over its complicity in the Tories’ worsening of the climate crisis – specifically, the ludicrous and planet-wrecking Rosebank oil field.
Labour HQ occupied: cancel Rosebank now
Two Christians from Bristol helped occupy the headquarters of the Labour Party on Wednesday 1 May in protest at the party’s refusal to cancel the Rosebank oil field. They were joined by more than twenty other people who protested both inside and outside of the building.
The Revd Sue Parfitt and Dave Mitchell, members of Christian Climate Action Bristol, joined others in holding banners which read ‘Labour Must Stop Rosebank’.
The group was made up of both lay Christians and members of the clergy – all under the banner of Christian Climate Action. They held a short church service both inside and outside of the building – aiming to create a space to grieve with all those who stand to suffer if Rosebank goes ahead:
Police arrived at the site soon after the protest began, but no arrests were made:
A ludicrous project
Rosebank oil field was approved by the UK government in September 2023. Its controversy stems from the fact Rosebank has the capacity to generate 200 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions, at a time when the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that there can be no further expansion of fossil fuel production if the world is to limit average global heating to 1.5C.
Moreover, as the Canary previously revealed there are direct links between the Rosebank project and banks’ funding of Israel’s ongoing genocide and apartheid in Palestine and the Occupied West Bank.
In 2023, Labour confirmed it would allow drilling to continue at any oil and gas projects approved by the current UK government; indicating it plans to permit Rosebank to continue.
In a letter that Christian Climate Action handed to the Labour HQ front desk, the group urged Labour to call a moratorium on the Rosebank oil field development should it form the next government:
Dave Mitchell said:
Everyone knows we are in a climate emergency caused by the continuing extraction and burning of fossil fuels. The science is clear, we need to be reducing our fossil fuel use to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Instead the UK government is licensing new oil and gas projects, including the massive Rosebank oil field. A Labour government, if elected, must commit to stopping all new oil and gas.
Featured image and additional images via Christian Climate Action Bristol
