Climate Protests Surge as Labour Government Faces Backlash Over North Sea Drilling

By Camilla Royle
Thursday, 03 September 2026

The climate movement has signaled a combative return to the streets this week, as activists target both the UK’s energy policy and the rising environmental toll of the artificial intelligence boom.

On Wednesday, the non-violent direct action group Just Stop Oil staged a dramatic reappearance in London, blocking traffic outside Parliament during Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first Prime Minister’s Questions.

The demonstration saw activists unfurl banners demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion. The heavy-handed police response resulted in the arrest of 62 individuals, while a larger crowd gathered on the pavement in a show of solidarity.

The “Death Sentence” of New Drilling

The group’s return comes amid mounting concern over reports that the Labour government is exploring legal loopholes to bypass its 2024 election pledge to halt new North Sea oil and gas licenses. Prime Minister Burnham is currently considering greenlighting drilling at two major sites: the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

For the activists, the stakes could not be higher. Sam Burgess, a student from Lancaster who participated in the blockade, warned that the policy shift would be catastrophic.

“More oil is a death sentence,” Burgess said. “The unprecedented heatwaves killed over 35,000 extra people in Europe this summer. I’m not going to sit by and wait for this figure to include someone I love.”

While many had assumed Just Stop Oil would remain dormant after previously announcing they were “hanging up their hi-viz jackets,” the government’s perceived backsliding on climate commitments has reignited the movement.

Rising Resistance to “Dirty” Data Centres

While the focus in London remained on fossil fuels, environmental activism also surged in Scotland. On Thursday, up to 250 demonstrators gathered at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to protest the rapid, unchecked expansion of energy-intensive data centres designed to fuel Artificial Intelligence.

Critics argue that these “hyperscale” facilities are an environmental disaster, requiring astronomical amounts of electricity and water for cooling systems.

Andrew, a campaigner protesting against the proposed Cato data centre in Auchtertool, Fife, noted that the movement is gaining significant traction. “The first protest had about 30 or 40 people, so it is gaining momentum,” he told Socialist Worker.

The protest featured a broad coalition, including the Dunfermline Creatives Network, who argue that the AI boom represents a dual threat: the destruction of creative jobs and the acceleration of ecological collapse.

“AI threatens the very existence of artists, filmmakers, and everyone in the creative industries—it’s dystopian,” Andrew added. “It’s really important that we support the fight against these data centres.”

While the Scottish government has recently mandated that companies must now submit environmental impact assessments for new data centre builds, campaigners are demanding more. The core demand remains a moratorium on all new data centre construction, as activists across the country signal that they are no longer willing to wait for government incrementalism to address the climate crisis.