Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

How we should deal with Just Stop Oil

One need not cast around for signs that Britain is no longer a serious country, but the indulgence with which Just Stop Oil is treated stands out more than most. The doomsday cult has now sprayed Stonehenge in orange cornflour to protest our failure to shutter every industry in the land and relocate the entire population to a cave. Apologists for these insufferable toerags wave away objections, sighing that it’s just cornflour and no long-term damage has been done.

Don’t mistake these excuse-makers for libertarians. The Venn diagram of people who are relaxed about Just Stop Oil’s methods and would also be relaxed if a group called Just Stop Immigration were using the same methods is two circles that will never intersect. Whenever someone bemoans ‘overreaction’ to a Just Stop Oil stunt, always interpret that to mean they support Just Stop Oil. 

Don’t mistake these excuse-makers for libertarians

It is not true that spraying orange cornflour on Stonehenge or chucking tomato soup on a van Gogh does no long-term harm.

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