13 Dec Saffron Cutts- Written Submission: Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers in a bid to get the attention of political parties
Young striker Sophie Andrews, Petra Metzger, and Bee Holland will sit outside the Labour headquarters for the duration of their Hunger strike.
On the 18th of November members of the Extinction Rebellion from across the world began a 7-day hunger strike which aims to highlight the impact that climate and ecological change are having on global food supplies.
More than 400 people from 27 countries are taking part in the hunger strike.
People from as far as Russia and Canada will be striking from the 18th of November till the 25th of November. Member of the Extinction Rebellion organization has gathered at both the conservative party headquarters and the Labour party headquarters, where they will stay for the 7 days of their strike.
Extinction Rebellion aims to grab the attention of the political parties and the media in the hopes that they begin to take a more prominent stance on the climate crisis and commit to making changes.
In an open letter, XR released a letter urging political parties to meet with the members striking and to meet their 3 demands for them to “Tell the truth by declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency” “Act now by promoting policies to halt biodiversity loss” and “Go Beyond Party Politics: by working with all parties to create, and be led by, the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice”.
Unfortunately, currently, as it stands, Extinction rebellion is yet to meet with any political leaders but are still hoping to grab their attention by protesting each day sitting outside their headquarters.
One member of the Extinction Rebellion, Bee has been protesting since the organization first began in October 2018, taking to the streets to accompany fellow members of XR in the protests in April around central London and even went to protests at Heathrow.
Bee began her hunger strike on the 18th of November with it ending on the 25th, unlike her fellow members who planned to continue their strike until the general election on December 12th.
Speaking about her reasoning for committing to the hunger strike Bee expressed “For many years I’ve been concerned about climate change and there’s not enough being done fast enough”.
Both the Labour party and Conservative party leaders have failed to comment on the Extinction Rebellion hunger strike and when contacted refused to comment on the matter
In a final statement aimed towards students and other young people, Bee insisted that they “Don’t be afraid of change” and that they must learn “you don’t have to do without, you just have to change how you do what you do”.
Both the Labour party and Conservative party leaders have failed to comment on the Extinction Rebellion hunger strike and when contacted refused to comment on the matter.
