The banners have been packed away, the face paint washed off and the Instagram accounts updated. The latest four-day demonstration by environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) – dubbed “the Big One” as it aimed to be the largest climate protest in UK history – ended without a single arrest.
The movement that began with civil disobedience in 2018 has now declared its preference for “attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”. Four months ago, the group announced a pause on disruptive action that inconvenienced the public, such as road blockades.
On a long weekend between April 21 and 24, that commitment was put to the test as tens of thousands (how many tens is something I will come back to) of people filled streets in London – especially around government buildings.
