Ordinary working people remain united at this time of deepening crisis. It is now the cost-of-living crisis, abject failure of political leadership, and the escalating climate and ecological emergencies altogether.
People in this country, those who grow the food, work in hospitals, teach our children or manage our public transport are left to suffer the consequences of choices made by politicians, corporations, and their economic and financial advisors.
This is alongside hundreds of millions across the Global South who have been experiencing the exploitation and destruction by that same system for centuries through the exploitation and destruction of colonialism.
We are at a point in history where ordinary people must stand together in resistance. When we hold hands and ask for justice, peace, and a future for our children, we are beaten back by heavy-handed police and laws that threaten the most basic freedoms we all enjoy.
Disruption and strikes have escalated in 2022 and in 2023 hundreds of thousands of people have already pledged to join the resistance in the form of trade union strikes, walkouts, or nonviolent direct action.
Since April 2022, hundreds have signed up to support Just Stop Oil (JSO) in demanding an end to all new fossil fuel investments as the government continues to pour investments into projects that will make our planet unlivable.
JSO`s escalating actions were met by support from other movements like Animal Rebellion who joined in civil resistance by disrupting the dairy industry and demanding government support for farmers to transition out of an industry leaving them, other animals, and the planet on their backs. In September 2022, Extinction Rebellion knocked on thousands of doors and heard people echo the same call for drastic and rapid system change, with many willing to step up into civil resistance to achieve that.
Several trade unions are ready to go on strike in early 2023, as Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) General Secretary Mark Serwotka said at the People's Assembly Against Austerity protest on 5th November 2022:
“PCS will announce results on 214 separate strike ballots in every government department and every public sector employer. We already have cleaners working down the road going on strike for 5 days, low paid workers in Liverpool, working for HGS (a company owned by billionaires) have had 20 days of strikes. Next week we hope to announce that hundreds of thousands of more civil servants will be joining them.
And here is a thought for you all: if 6 French workers going sick at Dover caused a 30-mile queue on the motorway and a 24 hour delay, think what a 1000 PCS members on a strike at Dover will do in this country?!”
(https://www.facebook.com/100069131610103/videos/686321936240313) Even traditionally non-disruptive NGOs like the Wildlife Trust, National Trust, and RSPB said that new government policy was an "attack on nature" and refused to rule out direct action over the government-sanctioned trashing of our wildlife and countryside.
We all see the same reality: our, so-called, leaders continue to act in a system that has no intention of acting honestly or with love for all life. Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, and those who claim to represent “developed nations” are happy to sacrifice billions of lives across the Global South, alongside millions of their own citizens, to keep business-as-usual going.
Responsible and caring ordinary people must be the ones to make decisions that impact us all. The complete overhaul of the political system must begin with Citizens Assemblies, where everyday working people have a say on their future.
It is a social and political transformation that is underway. A revolution of solidarity, frontline and key workers, social justice, animal justice, and climate justice. Whether it’s Just Stop Oil, Animal Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion, rail unions, nursing unions, teacher’s unions, and beyond, the 99% are saying this: “No More”.
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