Protesters block Blackwall Tunnel in Greenwich
Protesters from Insulate Britain have blocked the northbound and southbound Blackwall Tunnel this morning.
Activists have glued hands to tarmac.
Traffic is backed up through Greenwich, Blackheath, Kidbrooke and towards Eltham along the A102 and A2.
Local traffic is heavy in Blackheath and Greenwich.
Buses are heavily disrupted. In addition drivers queueing for petrol are obstructing buses in areas such as Plumstead further hampering services.
This is a regular occurrence as this image taken last week shows:
Buses are on diversion or subject to long delays.
I think these protests should be held at Parliament Square opposite the House of Commons. Blocking roads where people are trying to go about their lives will have the opposite effect on people of what they are trying to point out. What if an emergency vehicle – ambulance or fire engine – needed to take the road that is blocked? The protesters run the risk of a ‘Canning Town kicking’ from annoyed road users if they carry on.
This group smell like a false-flag operation to get the public onside for the policing bill.
Grudging respect for the protesters. They have a message and they are getting attention for it. People may not realise it, but these protesters are speaking up for all of us and our children. We will all suffer from the effects of climate change if more is not done.
I appreciate that this is disruptive, but disrupting the lives of voters is a good way to get elected representatives to listen. In our liberal, tolerant, democratic system, I think these protests should be tolerated, even if they are bloody annoying!
True, and well put. I support them also for those reasons.
I am not convinced that ‘disrupting the lives of voters’ is a good way to get a point across. There is a video of a distressed woman trying to follow her grandmother in an ambulance going to Canterbury, but she was blocked by the protesters. I doubt she, and those that ended up removing the protesters off the roads see it the way you do.
The attention the protesters are getting will eventually be negative if they keep blocking roads, and the points the protesters are trying to raise will be lost on many people. Extinction Rebellion learned the hard way when they stopped the Jubilee Line at Canning town, losing the point of their cause amongst many people that day and getting their bottoms kicked. An organised march along the streets is a more civil form of protest, and is far more likely to raise awareness than wanton disruption.
If protest was only ever limited to ‘a civil form‘ in the past you’d still be living under feudalism.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/09/police-bill-not-law-order-state-control-erosion-freedom