Supporters of Youth Demand have painted the Labour Party HQ, whilst others have marched to demand that both the Tories and Labour Party commit to imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel and end all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK, including revoking oil and gas licences issued since 2021. [1]
From 12pm supporters of Youth Demand gathered at Victoria Embankment gardens. The group heard speakers till around 1pm at which point a march of around 70 people set-off towards Waterloo Bridge ending in Parliament Square. Participants could be seen holding banners which read ‘Youth Demand an End to Genocide’, ‘Labour and Tory: Genocide Enablers and ‘Never Again is Now’.
Metropolitan Police warned Youth Demand supporters that they would be arrested under Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, which bans any act ‘which interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in England and Wales’, if they entered the road. At least one person was stopped and searched during the march, but there were no arrests.
Whilst the march was underway, at around 2pm, four supporters of Youth Demand began painting the outside of Labour HQ whilst another supporter painted the lobby.
One of those taking action today is Chris Faulkner, 21, an Earth Sciences student from Oxford, who said:
“There has never been a safer time for Labour to be bold. Instead, they are behaving like the biggest cowards imaginable. Young people will not stand by and watch Kier Starmer allow mass murder by selling weapons to Israel and allowing the development of new oil and gas. Over 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza and the breakdown of our climate will kill hundreds of millions more in the coming decades.
As long as the upcoming government is threatening to continue genocide, coordinated civil resistance is our only option. Radical change has to come from young people.”
Also taking action is Ella Taylor, 19, a student from Southampton, who said:
“Our politicians are out of control. They are complicit in genocide and we cannot wait patiently till the election to have our say. If we want change we must take matters into our own hands. Any government, whether Labour or Tory, should answer to the people. We are doing this to hold them to account. We are doing this for all the people who can’t. We are taking a stand for our right to a future and for the rights of the Palestinian people to live in freedom and safety.
If either party actually valued human life they would be investing in the NHS rather than the arms industry. What more proof do we need of their wilful neglect before we say enough is enough? I don’t want to live in a world where it’s okay for politicians to put money before peoples’ lives. If we don’t take a stand now this will never change.”
Young people will not accept the future those in charge have in store for us. We will not die quietly whilst our leaders commit us to a future of suffering and mass death. Young people are coming together to fight back. Join us at https://youthdemand.org
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Youth Demand is a new youth resistance campaign fighting for an end to genocide. Youth Demand a two-way arms embargo on Israel and an end to new oil and gas drilling. Youth Demand is part of Umbrella and a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects.
