Highlights
– Activist glues himself to PM Brown during award ceremony; states action was in opposition to Heathrow expansion plans
– Activists announce conference for late July 2008 to develop broad strategy to oppose Heathrow expansion
– Protests and acts of civil disobedience likely to continue in near to mid-term
– Conference will likely bolster overall campaign in the long-term
Environmental activists opposed to the proposed expansion of Heathrow International Airport have steadily continued their campaign over the past several months. Most recently, a dedicated activist from the group Plane Stupid staged a stunt during a meeting with United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister (PM) Gordon Brown to attract even further attention to the cause.
Importantly, activist groups recently announced plans to hold a conference on the Heathrow airport expansion, in an effort to improve their campaign. As stated previously, we believe that protests and other forms of non-violent direct action will continue in the near to mid-term by environmental groups opposed to the planned airport expansion.
Activist Glues Himself to Prime Minister Brown
On July 22, 2008, Dan Glass, an activist from the environmental group Plane Stupid super-glued himself to PM Gordon Brown in order to send a message to the PM on the airport expansion plans. According to reports, Glass was invited to 10 Downing Street to receive an award for his charity work on transportation issues.
When Glass went to shake hands with the PM, he glued his spare hand to the PM’s jacket and asked him to halt the airport expansion plans. Allegedly, Glass also tried to glue himself to the gates outside the building, however police removed him from the site. No charges have been filed against Glass for the incident.
Conference Announced on Halting Heathrow Expansion
As part of the upcoming August 2008 Camp for Climate Action in the UK (Previous Report), environmental activists announced that they would hold a conference regarding Heathrow airport, entitled, “What do we do if the worst comes to the worst and the Government says ‘yes’?” The conference took place at the Harlington Baptist Church in Harlington on July 26, 2008, just before the official start of the climate camp on August 3, 2008. Activists stated that while the upcoming climate camp will focus on the proposed coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth, they have “not forgotten Heathrow,” and therefore organized the conference.
The conference included structured discussions to develop a broad strategy to oppose the expansion plans, as well as workshops on a wide range of topics such as political lobbying to mass direct actions. Of note, both local campaign groups and international environmental organizations such as Greenpeace organized the conference.
As stated previously, the upcoming climate camp is expected to draw a large turnout, and as such, a significant number of individuals likely attended the Heathrow conference. Activists have not released detailed reports on the conference at this time.
Looking Forward
Environmental activists have continued to regularly stage protests and other direct actions aimed at halting the expansion plans for Heathrow airport. These events have included “flash mob” protests (Previous Report), large-scale demonstrations (Previous Report), and acts of civil disobedience such as climbing to the roof of Parliament (Previous Report). We believe that environmental organizations will continue to hold demonstrations and engage in peaceful acts of civil disobedience in an effort to put pressure on the government and keep the airport expansion issue in the media.
We believe that the upcoming conference on Heathrow airport could greatly assist the overall campaign against the expansion plans in the mid to long-term. The conference will bring together local activists and international organizations, thereby increasing connections and communication among those concerned over the issue. The conference is designed to develop a broad plan to combat the expansion of Heathrow, and the participation of well-known groups such as Greenpeace who have long engaged in direct actions will likely assist in increasing the capabilities of local activists with less experience. We believe the connections made at the conference could significantly bolster the anti-airport expansion campaign over time.
