Stephanie Pride

Confettigate: A Statement From Just Stop Oil The lady who threw confetti in Bruton yesterday was upholding a tradition that is common across many cultures. We absolutely defend the right for people to throw confetti (of whatever colour) at weddings and other celebrations. If it was a form of protest — which is yet to be established — we applaud it and thank the person concerned. It was peaceful and not especially disruptive, but got massive media attention for Just Stop Oil’s demand. It has also helped people to recall that George Osborne, one of the main architects of economic austerity, is directly responsible for over 300,000 excess deaths, and that — as a newspaper editor — he was responsible for some of the most egregious climate-denying nonsense ever to darken the pages of mainstream mass media. However, as much as we applaud the use of orange confetti at this wedding, we were not responsible. Perhaps the press could focus on something more important now? Like the current government’s plans to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects, which will result in excess deaths the likes of which we have never seen. Or the fact that the UN Secretary General has said that ‘climate change is out of control’ as we’ve just seen the hottest average temperatures since records began. Or the fact that Canadian wildfires have now burned down an area the size of Portugal. We are in catastrophically dangerous territory and the press have a moral responsibility to inform and educate people as to the causes of the crisis so that we can take action to defend ourselves. In 2023, it is simply criminal not to check your facts.