Exeter student plays key role in Just Stop Oil snooker demonstration

Joshua Hughes and Amy Rushton Editor and News Editor

IN April, two Just Stop Oil activists protested the World Snooker Championship in order to draw attention to government inaction over climate change. The event, which made national headlines, was part of Just Stop Oil’s call for the Government to cease all new fossil fuel projects.

Eddie Whittingham, a student at the University of Exeter, climbed onto a snooker table at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, emptying orange powder paint, prior to being removed by security and arrested. Whittingham has participated in prior Just Stop Oil demonstrations, including protesting the Kingsbury Oil terminal last September.

The recent demonstration made national news, leading to criticism across British sport and media, but also praise and support for Just Stop Oil’s efforts. In a statement released shortly after the protest, Just Stop Oil stated they targeted snooker in a move to “call on UK sporting institutions to join in civil resistance against the government’s genocidal policies.” They have since launched a campaign of civil resistance, including through slow marches, to add pressure on the government to end new oil and gas.

Whittingham, who is also involved in student climate campaigns at Exeter, gave a talk with climate activist Phoebe Plummer on “How to Just Stop Oil” at Exeter Phoenix on 12th May. Exeposé were able to talk to him about his experience and next steps.

É: Firstly, in the wake of your protest at the World Snooker Championship, what was the kind of media attention like in the aftermath of it?

EW: It was unprecedented. So, I expected that this would be, you know, page three of the Daily Mail, but instead it was on the front page of the Times, the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, which is a great success. But lord knows why it had that effect right? You know there were 60,000+ people on the streets of Westminster that same week and they didn't get a fraction of the coverage, so I can't really take credit for the success that this action achieved, but it's obviously very welcome because we all need to be talking about the climate crisis.

É: What effect did your protest have on Just Stop Oil and do you see an end in sight?

EW: So Just Stop Oil will cease to exist when the UK government commits to ending all new fossil fuel licences and consents in the UK. So, if you want us off the street, if you want us not doing this stuff, then you need to support our way because as soon as we achieve our aim, we will cease to be a movement basically. In terms of what this action achieved, we had more people signing up for slow marches than we had done at any point previously to that. That's the power of actions like this. They do mobilise people, even if they make you unpopular in the process. You know the suffragettes weren’t popular in their time, they disrupted horse races and other cultural events and everyone hated them, yet they were on the right side of history.

É: And in terms of the Public Order Act and the recent amendments that were made, what do you think about that and what do you say to people that are thinking of going out and protesting?

EW: I think people need more than ever to go out and protest. The Public Order Act is an absolute disgrace. So, if you have protested in the past five years, you can be forced to wear an electronic tag. You could have monitoring equipment installed in your home. You can be forced to report to the police as and when they see fit. The bill introduces new offences for locking on, which is a very common protest, so some in theory someone just linking arms with another protest could spend six months in prison for that.

I'm glad that it's coming to an end. I'm just going to carry on doing what I'm doing now. My dream is to be a writer, but obviously we need to have a habitable planet in order for me to pursue that as a vocation, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing basically, and hopefully not spend too much time in prison for it.

É: Is there anything else you'd like to add?