An Extinction Rebellion leader caught the attention of a London mayor before storming, complaining that “sound bites lead to mass death”.
The event, hosted by the Renew Party, aimed to give a platform to outlier candidates in the London mayoral race.
But only three of the invited contestants showed up at the event after Burning Pink Party contestant Valerie Brown was arrested in an incident at Canary Wharf earlier today.
The party is linked to Extinction Rebellion, whose co-founder Roger Hallam has been invited to take his place alongside Renew Party candidate Kam Balayev, Animal Welfare Party candidate Vanessa Hudson and Rejoin EU candidate Richard Hewison. .
Mayoral candidate Valerie Brown was arrested during an Extinction Rebellion protest in Canary Wharf yesterday. Credit: PA
Candidates were each given a minute to answer questions about their visions of London, but Mr Hallam left, complaining that “sound bites lead to mass death”.
Earlier that night, he said: “No one is really talking about what’s really going on. What is actually happening is that there is no longer a carbon budget in the world and that we are in the midst of the greatest crisis in human history.
“All those who are politicians lie about it, or they avoid it. I am not a politician. I’m not interested in becoming a politician… Politicians lied to us.
He added, “I don’t really do a lot of these debates. Do you know why? Because you walk into the room you say everything is in crisis and then everyone continues. Everyone continues.
“All the kids in this town know they’re f ******. They’re crazy as hell, then they come to battles like this, and then everyone goes on. No wonder they’re crazy as hell. It’s just a joke.
Mr Hallam went on to say that ‘politicians cannot fix’ the climate emergency and that ‘the way things are going to change for the better … it is the people themselves who are stepping up’.
After Mr Hallam left, the three remaining candidates presented their cases to voters ahead of the May 6 elections.
Kam Balayev, a former lawyer, said his platform was ‘the new economy’ and that he wanted London to ‘rethink and revise our relationship with big tech’.
Vanessa Hudson of the Animal Welfare Party said she wanted to tackle “the unequal and often abusive relationship with animals” and promote “a healthy, sustainable and compassionate lifestyle.”
Self-described one-question candidate Richard Hewison said he wanted to restore relations with the EU and urged voters to “use your first vote to show that you care about our relationship with our biggest trading partner ”.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-23 12:03:51
