Top Just Stop Oil donor Dale Vince pulls cash and says more protests are ‘pointless’

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2023

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One of Just Stop Oil’s top donors has announced he will stop funding the eco-group and will instead focus on an anti-Conservative campaign.

Dale Vince, who has donated to both climate activists and Labour, said continued disruption was “pointless” as the government will not change its stance on oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

The Ecotricity founder said he will divert his efforts to a new cause called Just Vote, which encourages young people and first-time voters to exercise their democratic right.

In a statement, Mr Vince said: “It’s a fact of our electoral system that only one of two parties can form the next government; we want to bring a focus to this reality and to the opportunity that we have – to elect a green government, one that will embrace the opportunities we face, rather than make an enemy of them – and use them to tackle the long list of issues we face as a country.”

Labour have promised to ban the granting of new licences to explore oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

Mr Vince applauded the “conviction and commitment” of Just Stop Oil, whose demonstrations he has funded since the group began, but suggested further action would play into the government’s hand by feeding the “culture war”.

“While I understand the frustration that people feel, I believe that further protests and the disruption that comes with them are pointless. I would go further and say they would be counterproductive,” he said.

“Consequently, I’m no longer going to fund protest but will instead switch all of my time, effort and funding to a new cause.”

It comes after Rishi Sunak watered down efforts to tackle the climate crisis, including a five-year delay to the ban on new fossil fuel cars, to avoid a public “backlash”.

Labour have pledged to retain the 2030 target for electric cars if it wins the next election.

Mr Vince’s status as a backer of the group has sparked calls from Conservatives for Labour to return donations from him, arguing it legitimises their tactics.

Mr Sunak has also sought to highlight Mr Vince’s support, saying it showed “eco-zealots” from Just Stop Oil are “writing Keir Starmer’s energy policy”.

Labour have rejected suggestions Just Stop Oil influences its policies, and defended receiving donations from Mr Vince – saying he is a “perfectly legitimate person” to accept money from.

Polling has suggested Britons support measures to tackle climate change, but the balance shifts when asked their opinion if such actions dealt a blow to their personal finances.

Politics

Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to $9.4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Wolf Capital co-founder pleads guilty to .4M Ponzi, promised 547% returns

According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.

Politics

Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

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Rachel Reeves lands in China amid pressure to cancel trip over market turmoil

Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.

Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.

The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.

The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.

However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.

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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.

She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.

She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.

But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.

On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.

“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.

“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”

Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China

However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.

While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.

It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.

Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.

Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.

During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.

The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.

Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”