Activism

Just Stop Oil activists spray think tank hub 55 Tufton Street with orange paint

The address is home to think tanks influential in shaping Liz Truss's policies

just stop oil, 55 Tufton Street

Over 500 Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested during the group's most recent campaign. Image: Just Stop Oil

Activists from Just Stop Oil have sprayed 55 Tufton Street, home to a number of influential right-wing think tanks, with orange paint.

Dubbed “the other black door shaping British politics“, the London address houses think-tanks influential in shaping Liz Truss’s agenda as prime minister, and was doused with paint as she departed Downing Street.

The activists also glued themselves to the road, accusing think tanks including the Global Warming Policy Foundation of being a threat to the environment.

“We’re on the streets of London because politics is broken. It was broken here in Tufton Street by shady, opaquely funded lobbyists who now stalk the corridors of power, thanks to Liz Truss,” a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said.

“Their bankrupt ideas have brought the economy to its knees but it’s much worse than that.”

Your support changes lives. Find out how you can help us help more people by signing up for a subscription

The address was home to Vote Leave, and now houses the Global Warming Policy Foundation and the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Liz Truss made Matthew Sinclair, the former chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, her economics adviser, while Kwasi Kwarteng was seen with Sinclair after delivering his fiscal statement.

In the aftermath of this, campaign group Led By Donkeys placed a fake commemorative sign on the building reading: “The UK economy was crashed here”.

Get the latest news and insight into how the Big Issue magazine is made by signing up for the Inside Big Issue newsletter

Demanding an end to oil and gas projects in the UK, Just Stop Oil’s most recent campaign has seen a fresh round of road blocks alongside a stunt pouring soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers which attracted global attention

In three weeks of protests, 576 Just Stop Oil activists have been arrested.

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
This man let 12 strangers give £100,000 of his money away. Governments should follow suit
Philanthropy

This man let 12 strangers give £100,000 of his money away. Governments should follow suit

Housing estate plagued by mould, damp and dire conditions. Now, residents are fighting back
tower hamlets
Housing

Housing estate plagued by mould, damp and dire conditions. Now, residents are fighting back

'He's like a caged animal in the flat': Meet the parents fighting for an adult social care revolution
Parents and children take part in a sensory parachute exercise at Linden Farm
Social care

'He's like a caged animal in the flat': Meet the parents fighting for an adult social care revolution

Big Issue founder John Bird celebrates vendors at House of Lords – and vows to help end destitution
National Vendor Week

Big Issue founder John Bird celebrates vendors at House of Lords – and vows to help end destitution

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know