London:
Greenpeace UK protesters disrupted Prime Minister Liz Truss’s regular speech at the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, accusing her of backtracking on election promises.
The environmentalists said their public affairs chief and policy officer were responsible for holding up a banner during the speech asking, “Who voted for this?”
The couple – Rebecca Newsom and Ami McCarthy – were evicted from the venue in Birmingham, central England, to cheers and applause from delegates.
Newsom said in a statement afterwards that Truss had “shreddered” most of the Tories’ 2019 election promises.
“People voted for strong action on climate, a fracking moratorium, leading environmental protection and tackling poverty and inequality,” she added.
“What they’re getting instead is fracking, a potential bonfire of wildlife and conservation regulations, and now the prospect of benefit cuts.”
Truss, who replaced Boris Johnson just a month ago, wants to boost sluggish growth in the UK and tackle rising inflation by cutting taxes, scaring markets and heightening fears of sovereign debt.
Her renewed climate policy in particular has enraged environmental organizations about the acceleration of offshore oil and gas exploration in the North Sea and the end of a moratorium on fracking.
Greenpeace and others have urged the government to impose a windfall tax on energy companies whose profits have risen due to the rise in wholesale oil and gas prices.
Former Shell employee Truss, who opposes the move, has targeted direct action protesters and her critics, accusing them of anti-growth.
“They would rather protest than act,” she said at the conference. “They’d rather talk on Twitter than make tough decisions.”
On Tuesday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, whose remit also includes police work, pledged to give officers more powers to counter disruptive protests.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)