First of all, it IS great news that the new Labour government has ruled that the Tories’ approval of the Cumbrian coalmine was unlawful, and has pulled its defence of the earlier approval of the mine.
Incidentally, I must confess that I’ve failed to resist the temptation to point out to all those who criticised the “Kick Out the Tories!” stance of Anti-Capitalist Resistance – and my decision to vote Labour in Penrith & Solway (mainly to prevent the election of the semi-fascist Tory candidate) – that getting rid of the Tories has in fact already made a positive difference, if only a small one. At least so far!
In addition to that decision on the Cumbrian coalmine, Ed Miliband went against his senior Civil Service adviser and has announced a complete ban on all new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Yes – Labour now needs to rescind all the licences the Tory government had already approved: that’s precisely the meaning of the other part of ACR’s election slogan: “Build the Struggles!”
Coming on top of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Horse Hill fracking application, the government’s decision on the Cumbrian coalmine bodes well for our High Court hearings next week. In preparation for our cases – which are due to begin on Tuesday 16 July – remarkable scientific-research work has been done by individuals like Maggie Mason and Henry Adams, who appear in this compilation video of our long-running anti-coalmine campaign:
This video also shows clips from one of our Speakers’ Corners, with one of those speaking being Felicity Dowling, National Secretary of Left Unity. These events were held on a monthly basis during 2023, and other speakers included Julia Steinberger (Lead Author of one of the most recent IPCC Reports), Mike Berners-Lee (Professor of Sustainability at Lancaster University, Rob Marsden (for ACR), Joseph Healy (for Transform), Sarah Finch (for the Weald Action Group) Clara Paillard (of Tipping Point), Tina Rothery (of Lancashire’s Anti-Fracking Nanas), and Gail Bradbrook (Co-founder of Extinction Rebellion). These events also had brilliant support from several trade unions, Markus Campbell-Savours (now the new Labour MP for Penrith & Solway), West Cumbria FoE, and XR North Lakes.
However, without wanting to dampen people’s hopes, it’s now clear that West Cumbria Mining are determined to fight our legal challenges. So, unfortunately, it’s still too early to celebrate – despite the new government’s excellent decision (which kind of proves the point that even small improvements ARE worth having!). Consequently, we’re taking nothing for granted – in fact, we’ve put this programme together for next week:
Monday 15th July – Leafleting & speakers from 5.30pm to 7.30pm (speakers at 6.30pm) at Whitehaven Market Place. Come and hear
Joe Ghayouba – Cumberland Councillor for Bransty Ward Whitehaven (Labour)
Fiona Heslam – Former teacher
Matilda Bridgman – School student climate activist
Naomi Sayal – Folk musician (English National Youth Folk Ensemble)
Olivia Williams-Woods – School student climate activist
Jamie Penquite-Green – Political and Trade Union activist
David Niven – Carlisle Trades Council
Ellen Robottom – Campaign Against Climate Change Trades Union
Several of those speakers had already spoken at our Speakers’ Corners last year– and were no doubt not expecting to be asked again!!
Then, on the first day of our court cases, we have this:
Tuesday 16th July – a media photo opportunity, illustrating green jobs. This will take place from 9am to 10am (with local media at 9:30am), at the West Cumbria Mining office, Solway Rd, Kells, Whitehaven. CA28 9BG
Some may see this as unwarranted pessimism – but we must always be realistic, and realise that two steps forward are sometimes followed by one step backwards. Applying the precautionary principle, and being ready to respond to any last-minute setbacks, means we NEVER let the sods find us unprepared, with no immediate response!! As in a game of chess, it’s not wise to make what you think is a brilliant move – and then fail to use your opponent’s thinking time to work out what their responses are likely to be, AND to work out your counter-responses in reply. As the late and great Tony Benn correctly said: there are no final victories – just as there are no final defeats. We just have to keep on struggling till we get as near as possible to what we want! And West Cumbria Mining, please note: we most definitely will, keep on struggling – even if we lose the court cases!
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