Environmental protestors interrupt Chancellor's speech

[Carlton green]

To put the gatecrash in a different light who would be pleased to have a similar action at their wedding reception? A load of people descending on your private event to protest because meat was on the menu or because some of your guests had flown to the event. I predict that the overwhelming majority of guests and hosts would be pretty upset by such a wilful abuse.

I think upsetting the guests and host was the purpose. The history of the world would be very different if protesters had eschewed annoyance as a tactic. In any case, a Mansion House dinner can't be reasonably compared with my wedding reception. For one thing, we invited no guests. For another, we have no influence over national environmental policy.

Ben@Forest has supplied you with a good answer which I don’t think I can add much too.

As they say: “there’s a time and place for everything”. In this case I believe that the protesters overstepped the mark, however I do take your point about ‘if protesters had eschewed annoyance as a tactic’. It’s a tricky balance or a fine line to tread, and this time the protesters were the wrong side of it. Personally I want protests to be legal, responsible, reasonable and effective; gatecrashing an event like this just degrades genuine protest and is effectively a form of aggression towards others who might even have already been positive toward your cause.

[windmiller]

The politically determined provocateur manipulated the situation to suit her propaganda driven agenda.

Mission accomplished.

[Vorpal]

Please don't annoy people when you are protesting the destruction of the planet.

[kwackers]

Please don't annoy people when you are protesting the destruction of the planet.

Not destruction; "politically motivated propaganda".

[Vorpal]

Please don't annoy people when you are protesting the destruction of the planet.

Not destruction; "politically motivated propaganda".

Oh well, that's okay, then.

[bovlomov]

The Mansion House was paid for by fines imposed on dissenters. With perfect symmetry, dissenters have decided they'd like to comment on what goes on in there.

[mattheus]

The politically determined provocateur manipulated the situation to suit her propaganda driven [Are you sure?? Mattheus ]agenda.

Mission accomplished.

They certainly achieved their objective! Loads of publicity.

Almost all of it good - because luckily an oafish politician attempted to "resolve" the situation, and just as they would have predicted - looked very bad in the process. Protestor then declined to prosecute - thus gaining even more moral high ground.

Whatever the cause, they did a goob job.

(I happen to think Greenpeace have a pretty good cause - it is mostly science-driven, which is rather different to "propaganda driven". windmiller may disagree!)

[windmiller]

The politically determined provocateur manipulated the situation to suit her propaganda driven [Are you sure?? Mattheus ]agenda.

Mission accomplished.

They certainly achieved their objective! Loads of publicity.

Almost all of it good - because luckily an oafish politician attempted to "resolve" the situation, and just as they would have predicted - looked very bad in the process. Protestor then declined to prosecute - thus gaining even more moral high ground.

Whatever the cause, they did a goob job.

(I happen to think Greenpeace have a pretty good cause - it is mostly science-driven, which is rather different to "propaganda driven". windmiller may disagree!)

Yes loads of publicity and sympathy and shed loads of morality medals. Whatever next - Golden halos at the none melting snowflake awards?

[reohn2]

The politically determined provocateur manipulated the situation to suit her propaganda driven [Are you sure?? Mattheus ]agenda.

Mission accomplished.

They certainly achieved their objective! Loads of publicity.

Almost all of it good - because luckily an oafish politician attempted to "resolve" the situation, and just as they would have predicted - looked very bad in the process. Protestor then declined to prosecute - thus gaining even more moral high ground.

Whatever the cause, they did a goob job.

(I happen to think Greenpeace have a pretty good cause - it is mostly science-driven, which is rather different to "propaganda driven"........)

[Cunobelin]

The politically determined provocateur manipulated the situation to suit her propaganda driven [Are you sure?? Mattheus ]agenda.

Mission accomplished.

They certainly achieved their objective! Loads of publicity.

Almost all of it good - because luckily an oafish politician attempted to "resolve" the situation, and just as they would have predicted - looked very bad in the process. Protestor then declined to prosecute - thus gaining even more moral high ground.

Whatever the cause, they did a goob job.

(I happen to think Greenpeace have a pretty good cause - it is mostly science-driven, which is rather different to "propaganda driven"........)

One man's science is another man's propaganda.

It is how you dismiss reality

[Ben@Forest]

One man's science is another man's propaganda.

It is how you dismiss reality

Though l am sure Greenpeace often have a valid message you do wonder if someone at Greenpeace HQ was getting a little worried about the column inches Extinction Rebellion have been getting recently.

Greenpeace is an organisation that relies on profile, relevance and donations as much as any other. I'm sure that around the top table making sure they are still notable is an important consideration. And they achieved that.

[mattheus]

Greenpeace is an organisation that relies on profile, relevance and donations as much as any other. I'm sure that around the top table making sure they are still notable is an important consideration. And they achieved that.

Yup - who would have thought the snowflakes had it in them? Chapeau!

[Oldjohnw]

The simple fact is that nothing positive or progressive is ever achieved without pressure groups going on for years. Governments only bow to pressure. Any initiative they have all on their own, whether in the area of the environment, housing, criminal justice, social and welfare justice or health, is almost always negative and retrograde.

[bovlomov]

The simple fact is that nothing positive or progressive is ever achieved without pressure groups going on for years. Governments only bow to pressure. Any initiative they have all on their own, whether in the area of the environment, housing, criminal justice, social and welfare justice or health, is almost always negative and retrograde.

Yes. And the corporate lobbying never ceases. Corporations don't need to gatecrash events, as they are either honoured guests or they are the hosts.

Corporations have the ear of ministers and prime ministers. They have staff seconded to the civil service, while civil servants often find employment within the corporations that they were once policing.

I think we should forgive the campaigner if s/he breaches etiquette in order to gain a minister's attention. It ain't going to happen any other way.

[Mike Sales]

The simple fact is that nothing positive or progressive is ever achieved without pressure groups going on for years. Governments only bow to pressure. Any initiative they have all on their own, whether in the area of the environment, housing, criminal justice, social and welfare justice or health, is almost always negative and retrograde.

Yes. And the corporate lobbying never ceases. Corporations don't need to gatecrash events, as they are either honoured guests or they are the hosts.

Corporations have the ear of ministers and prime ministers. They have staff seconded to the civil service, while civil servants often find employment within the corporations that they were once policing.

I think we should forgive the campaigner if s/he breaches etiquette in order to gain a minister's attention. It ain't going to happen any other way.

Its worse than that. Many MPs are paid lobbyists for companies and foreign governments.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9774964/MPs-paid-thousands-of-pounds-from-lobby-groups.html