Protesters Rally in Oxford City Centre Over Proposed Traffic Filters

Content Warning: Antisemitism

Image Credit: Lucy Heywood

Following a wave of online misinformation and abuse aimed at Oxford County Council staff over the proposed traffic filters scheme, hundreds of protestors have gathered in Oxford city centre this afternoon to protest the supposed implementation of 15-minute cities.

The Oxfordshire County Council, supported by the Oxford City Council, proposed the trial installation of traffic filters on six roads within Oxford, which is set to begin in 2024. The traffic filters will be similar to standard traffic cameras that read number plates, fining drivers without an exemption or residents’ permit if they pass the filter at certain times of the day. This scheme aims to reduce congestion on specific roads by encouraging drivers to take alternate routes at the busiest times of the day. The concept was first introduced in the 2015 Oxford Transport Strategy, though it has since undergone some changes following a consultation of local residents.

However, misinformation surrounding the traffic filters has been circulating online for the past few months, notably on Twitter, which links the scheme to the city council’s 15-minute neighbourhoods proposal which was included in their Local Plan 2040. 15-minute neighbourhoods (also known as 15-minute cities) are an urban model designed to be ‘people-centred’, allowing people to access amenities such as shops, schools, and healthcare within a 15-minute walk from their home.

Today’s protest was organised by Not Our Future, an organisation claiming that 15-minute cities will prevent residents from leaving their local area as part of a ‘climate lockdown.’ They believe that this is connected to a larger plan to limit freedom of movement following the COVID-19 lockdowns first implemented in 2020. Protestors have travelled from all over the country to attend the demonstration, with one protester telling The Oxford Blue that they had been here all of the previous night.

However, the protest against the traffic filters and the 15-minute cities scheme has become a rallying cry for all manners of right-wing conspiracy theories, from climate change denial and to anti-vaccination propaganda to 5G conspiracies. Members of the Heritage Party—a group that on their website claim to stand for ‘free speech and liberty, traditional family values, national sovereignty, and financial responsibility’—were seen wielding signs that said ‘Stop Agenda 2030’, with others declaring ‘We do not consent!’ and that ‘15 minute cities destroy livelihoods.’ Notable speakers present at the event included actor Laurence Fox, who livestreamed parts of the demonstration, and pop duo Right Said Fred, who last year shared a livestream by a prominent neo-Nazi.

Antisemitic dog whistles often linked with holocaust denial were also present in the propaganda, with leaflets decrying ‘15 minute ghettos’ pasted around the city centre. Further leaflets denying the existence of climate change, as well as the public-funded newspaper The Light, which featured an article claiming that nuclear weapons are ‘nothing but propaganda’, were also distributed at the rally. Protesters had reportedly been communicating via large Whatsapp groups due to the platform’s end-to-end encryption, a tactic also used by global conspiracy theorists.

One man, on the side of the demonstrators, sang a rendition of L.O.V.E by Nat King Cole interspersed with cries of ‘freedom!’ Many people were seen photographing a masked individual with a sign reading ‘Oxford 2024: 15 minute city — Where East Berlin meets the Hunger Games’, as well as making references to the World Economic Forum.

A strong police presence was seen at the demonstrations, with police vans and mounted police escorts present. Officers of the Thames Valley Police force were split between Bonn Square, Carfax Tower, and Broad Street, where the bulk of protestors were, with several roads being closed for public safety. By Carfax Tower, police created a barricade with their bicycles in order to separate the demonstrators from counter-protestors. Buses which usually run on Queen Street were subject to the road block caused by the protests, with some being diverted.

Several arrests have been made during the course of the day, with reports of a counter-protester being arrested on Turl Street. Throughout the city, counter-protesters held signs saying ‘No to racism, no to fascism’ and ‘don’t let the fascists divide us.’ Some counter-protesters were reportedly asked by the police to stay away from the centre of the demonstration to prevent ‘intimidation’, as well as being told to remove their masks or otherwise identify themselves.

When asked for comment, counter-protester and Chairperson of East Oxford Community Association, Ciaran Walsh, stated that ‘the anti-LTN [low-traffic neighbourhood] demonstration […] has nothing to do with the real communities of Oxford or the choices and difficulties facing us. They are merely trying to generate publicity and spread their hateful agendas by exploiting people’s legitimate concerns over LTNs. They are not welcome in East Oxford or anywhere else in our most diverse City.’ Walsh continued, ‘The problems of Oxford can only be solved adequately by people here in Oxford.’