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Liam O'Dell
Oct 05, 2022
Greenpeace protesters removed from Tory party conference during Liz Truss speech
IndependentTV
Liz Truss’ first Conservative Party Conference speech as prime minister wasn’t exactly the smoothest, after hecklers from the environmental campaign group Greenpeace interrupted the address with a sign reading “who voted for this?”
The protesters were booed by audience members as others rose to applaud Ms Truss, who acknowledged the individuals by saying “let’s get them removed”.
After security escorted the activists out of the conference hall, the Tory party leader added: “I am going to talk about the anti-growth coalition, but I think they arrived a bit too early.”
Ms Truss walked onto the stage in Birmingham to “Moving On Up” by M People. Her government has come under intense scrutiny in recent days, after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was forced to make a screeching U-turn on plans to scrap the 45p rate of income tax following a tank in the British pound.
She also ditched a ban on fracking – the controversial mining procedure which was stopped amid fears of earthquakes – last week.
Of course, the stunt by Greenpeace soon took over Twitter, with many praising the group’s actions:
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\u201cYes, come on Greenpeace!\n\nThey've disrupted Liz Truss' charismatic tour-de-fource with a massive banner demanding 'Who voted for this?'\n\nThat applies to fracking - but also applies to Truss' whole extreme Tory economic agenda which nobody voted for.\u201d— Owen Jones (@Owen Jones) 1664965224
\u201cWho voted for this? \n\nWe approve of this message, brought to #ConservativePartyconference by #GreenPeace activists. \n\nSolidarity \ud83d\udcaa\u201d— Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d (@Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d) 1664965498
\u201cGreat to see @greenpeace in Tory party conference asking who voted for this? They\u2019re right - nobody voted for more fracking, tearing up nature protections or the \u00a3 in free fall. \nWe need a general election now #CPC22\u201d— Caroline Lucas (@Caroline Lucas) 1664965336
\u201cGreenpeace asking the most important question #ConservativePartyconference\u201d— \u201cK\u201d (@\u201cK\u201d) 1664965209
\u201cProps to @Greenpeace, demonstrating the value of peaceful protest. Not just because they made their intended point but also prompted Liz Truss to make an unscripted and explicit statement of opposition to environmentalism\u201d— Catherine Mayer (@Catherine Mayer) 1664965478
\u201cThat Greenpeace protestor really nailed the Tory lady of the shires look\u201d— Guy Walters \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Guy Walters \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1664965195
Confirming the protest, Greenpeace wrote on Twitter that the interruption was about them denouncing Ms Truss "shredding her party's 2019 manifesto promises".
"The PM is U-turning on fracking, strong climate action, and world-leading environmental protections. Who voted for this," they said.
\u201cBREAKING \ud83d\udea8\nGreenpeace activists have interrupted @TrussLiz speech at #CPC22 to denounce the prime minister 'shredding' her party\u2019s 2019 manifesto promises.\n\nThe PM is U-turning on fracking, strong climate action, and world-leading environmental protections.\n\nWho voted for this?\u201d— Greenpeace UK (@Greenpeace UK) 1664965657
It isn’t the first time that a Conservative party leader has had their keynote conference speech interrupted by an audience member, as prankster Simon Brodkin – best known for his character Lee Nelson – walked up to give Theresa May a P45 in October 2017.
He claimed Boris Johnson, who would later succeed her as prime minister, had asked him to hand it to her.
The same speech also saw Ms May suffer a tickly throat, and letters from the ‘Building a Country That Works For Everyone’ slogan behind her fall off the wall.
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