On 28 October 1,000 climate activists from across the South West came together for a day of action and a march in Bath. The day of action was called by Extinction Rebellion South West and had over 40 sponsors including local XR groups, climate groups, local trade unions and trades councils. It was pitched as a “family friendly” day in a park to unite for the climate, nature and social justice, with stalls, panels, workshops, music and a protest.
Speeches before and after the march covered topics such as Shell’s safety record, local ecology, the environmental impact on the military, horticulturalism, the Stop Rosebank campaign, and the campaign against Bristol Airport expansion. On the march through the city there was no union presence, but XR Health Workers and XR Scientists, Bath Labour Party, and Bath Green Party were there. The politics circulating on the day was eclectic but generally liberal.
The focus was primarily on pushing the fossil fuel industry to “do the right thing” and stop investing in and expanding fossil infrastructure. When one speaker, a former safety consultant from Shell, celebrated the action taken by businesses and investors, arguing that least sections of them should be more included in our activism, that was met with general celebration and agreement.
Many I talked to on the march were sympathetic to more socialist politics and more engagement with workers in polluting industries, but there wasn’t really an organised presence (stalls, or block on the march) pointing in that direction. I encourage socialists to continue engaging with XR protests and meetings.
Despite limitations, it is nonetheless the most active current, and where most people gravitate for climate politics.