by William Yarwood, media campaign manager
Remember Insulate Britain? If not, that’s not surprising. They vanished almost overnight in late 2022, disappearing as quickly as they had emerged. But their brief, chaotic existence tells us an important story - not just about environmental activism, but about how effective government action can stamp out criminal behaviour when applied properly.
For those who need a refresher, Insulate Britain was yet another copycat climate activist group, following in the footsteps of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil. While those groups made vague, sweeping demands about "saving the planet," Insulate Britain had a more specific objective: they wanted the government to fully fund insulation in all social housing by 2025 and ensure every home in Britain was retrofitted with insulation by 2030.
But rather than campaign through democratic channels, Insulate Britain followed the now-familiar playbook of climate activism: causing as much disruption as possible to ordinary people who had nothing to do with their demands.
Beginning in September 2021, they blocked key roads, motorways, and transport hubs. The M25 was repeatedly shut down as activists sat in the middle of live traffic, refusing to move even for ambulances. The Blackwall Tunnel, one of the busiest routes in London, was brought to a standstill. Even the Port of Dover, a vital gateway for trade and travel, was targeted.
The chaos they caused had real human consequences. One of the most infamous incidents saw a woman in tears, desperately trying to reach her mother in hospital, only to be met with blank stares from activists who refused to let her through. These weren’t attacks on government ministers - they were attacks on working people just trying to get on with their lives.
But did it work? Did blocking roads and disrupting commuters force the government to bow to their demands? Far from rallying people behind their cause, Insulate Britain became one of the most despised protest groups in Great Britain.
Polling from YouGov at the time found that 72 per cent of the public opposed their actions, with 73 per cent believing their tactics were actively harming their cause. Even among those seemingly sympathetic to climate action, there was little patience for motorway blockades and travel chaos.
Sensing an opportunity, the Boris Johnson-led Conservative government moved swiftly. With the public overwhelmingly against Insulate Britain, ministers had a perfect chance to demonstrate strong leadership and put an end to the chaos.
The then home secretary, Priti Patel was quick to act. Announcing at Conservative party conference in 2021, Patel increased the maximum penalties for disrupting roads, granting police stronger powers to remove protesters on the spot.
While this was effective, the government recognised that half-measures weren’t enough, so they went further. In 2022, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act was introduced, giving police the power to break up disruptive protests before they escalated. In 2023, the government doubled down with the Public Order Act, which introduced even tougher laws specifically designed to shut down groups like Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
This new legislation transformed how the police could handle disruptive protests. Protesters could now be arrested immediately for “locking on” (gluing themselves to roads) rather than being left to block traffic for hours. Blocking key transport routes became punishable by six months in prison, while those disrupting national infrastructure - such as rail, roads, and airports - could now face prolonged time behind bars. Crucially, the law also allowed police to act preemptively, meaning they could arrest activists before they even started blocking roads.
The results were immediate. Once facing few consequences apart from some name-calling from angry commuters, Insulate Britain activists now knew they risked serious legal penalties with many of their activists being thrown into prison. Without the ability to bring traffic to a standstill without facing real punishment, their movement collapsed almost overnight. The group itself admitted defeat in early 2022 with a poignant statement being released, reading in all caps: “WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE WE HAVE FAILED”
By the end of 2022, their protests had all but disappeared. Some activists drifted over to Just Stop Oil, but even they have struggled under the tougher laws, and their presence has diminished also, with police routinely arresting them before they can cause disruption. The government had successfully ended a wave of disruptive activism, proving that firm action works when properly applied.
But the collapse of Insulate Britain and the clamping down on disruptive climate activism proves something more fundamental: when laws are enforced properly, they work.
For years, climate activists were able to block roads, disrupt cities, and make people’s lives a misery with little consequence. But the moment serious legal penalties were introduced and actually enforced, these disruptive stunts ground to a halt.
This then raises a far bigger question: if the government can crack down on activists blocking motorways, why can’t it crack down on illegal migration? If it can pass laws to stop eco-protesters from causing chaos, why can’t it prevent benefit fraudsters from ripping off taxpayers? If it can show this level of determination to protect Britain’s roads, why does it struggle to get a grip on so-called minor crimes like shoplifting and phone stealing?
The Insulate Britain saga proves that government action can be swift and effective when ministers have the will to enforce the law. The real question is: why isn’t this approach applied across the board?