Quakers witness against Barclays bank

'The choir interrupted the chair’s opening statement with a rousing version of a Spice Girls song: “Stop right now, no more oil and gas. Stop burning fossil fuels and end this madness…"'

Bristol Quakers took the lead in environmental protests at Barclays Annual General Meeting (AGM) this month, with the help of activist singers.

The protests took place at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in London on 4 May, where Barclays senior staff gathered for its AGM.

Bristol Quakers told the Friend that they targeted the bank as it is ‘one of Europe’s largest funders of fossil fuels and has refused to end investment in new oil and gas projects’.

‘The most powerful action came from a fifty-strong group of singers, inspired and organised by the Quaker-led Bristol Climate Choir. After successfully entering the meeting as token shareholders, the choir interrupted the chair’s opening statement with a rousing version of a Spice Girls song: “Stop right now, no more oil and gas. Stop burning fossil fuels and end this madness… hey you, burning up the Earth, gotta stop it now baby, we have had enough… you dirty, dirty bank”.’

The Climate Choir movement is gaining momentum across Britain. Last year singers intervened in the HSBC AGM and sang their way through the City of London to a memorial meeting for John Woolman outside the Vanguard investment company. This year they sang against the expansion of Bristol Airport and teamed up with other singers for a 4,000-strong march at Extinction Rebellion’s ‘The Big One’. Other actions have included a musical tour of City institutions.

The choir says, ‘We’ll use song for peaceful protest to get the message across: all of us have to act now. Harmonious sounds and energy fill the room. We’re ready to resonate and encourage other climate choirs around the country and beyond.’

Climate Choirs now have over 400 singers, with new groups formed in London, Bath, Southampton, Sheffield, Oxford and Swansea.

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