Just Stop Oil begin slow cycling protests

Just Stop Oil has staged its first ‘slow cycle’ through London today, as part of the group’s plans to “evolve” its tactics in the face of what it claims is the government’s attempt to “restrict our legitimate rights to protest”.

The environmentalist group has staged slow marches on the streets of London for the last seven weeks in a bid to draw attention to their demand that the British government puts a stop to “all licences and consents for new oil, gas, and coal projects”.

Until now, all of these protests have been on foot, but this morning at 8am, nine Just Stop Oil activists slowly rode their bikes in London’s West End, as two other groups of supporters marched at Chiswick roundabout and Blackheath.

🚲 BREAKING: 9 Slow Cycle for No New Oil and Gas in West End

🦺 At 8am, 9 supporters began slow cycling down Park Lane to demand an end to new fossil fuels. At the same time, another 2 groups of supporters began slow marching on the A2 at Blackheath and at Chiswick roundabout. pic.twitter.com/0E0ERdbsvU

— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 9, 2023

An hour and a half after the demonstration began on Park Lane, the Metropolitan Police tweeted that they had issued the group with a section 12 order for causing disruption to traffic, and moved the protesting cyclists onto the pavement.

The decision to usher the bike riding activists off the road and onto the footpath, however, provoked a bemused response on Twitter.

“The same pavement where it’s illegal to cycle by any chance?” wrote one user. “Hi Essex Police, remember when you told me I’d be fined if caught cycling on the pavement in Wickford to avoid getting killed by lorries? I’m taking a leaf out of the Met’s book and using the pavement from now on.”

The very same…https://t.co/xxD9RR9oou

— David (@TwoWheelsGoodOK) June 9, 2023

A spokesperson from Just Stop Oil told road.cc today that the move to riding bikes slowly across the road is a response to the government’s attempts to clamp down on the disruption caused by the marching activists in recent weeks.

“This criminal government is quietly signing off on over 100 new oil and gas projects that will hasten climate collapse and destroy the conditions that make human life possible. It is an act of war against the young and millions of people in the global south,” the spokesperson said.

“At the same time, they are enacting laws to ensure that no-one can stop them. They are restricting our legitimate rights to protest and to march in the road as people have done throughout history to express dissent. So, our tactics will continue to evolve.

“We are happy to show solidarity with cyclists everywhere and ask them to join us in civil resistance. Whether marching or cycling we will continue to do whatever is non-violently possible to end new oil and gas.”

> “You are f***ing it up for all of us”: Cyclist makes the headlines after berating Just Stop Oil activists for “hurting the green cause”

The call for cyclists to join Just Stop Oil’s campaign of civil resistance comes just over a week after a man on a bike made headlines for confronting the protesters during a slow march and claiming that they were “harming the green cause”.

The cyclist approached the activists as they slowly walked down Holloway Road in north London, blocking traffic, as part of a series of Bank Holiday demonstrations. The rider – who pointed out to the protesters that he was “a liberal and a cyclist” – told them: “Everyone is just trying to go about their business, go about their day, and you are f***ing it all up for all of them.

“You might feel better about yourselves, but all you are doing is harming the cause because everyone hates you. I’m a liberal, and a cyclist, and I live in north London – and I hate you.”