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Daily Mirror
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Tensions erupt at UK's most exclusive billionaire's private jet fair
The Elite London in Wycombe Air Park on the outskirts of London draws in a crowd of well-heeled and deep pocketed punters looking for their next private jet or helicopter An ultra-exclusive event erupted into chaos over the weekend. Visit the Elite London at Wycombe Air Park on the outskirts of London and you'll find yourself rubbing up against some seriously well-clad shoulders. The event is aimed at those interested in buying a new private jet, upgrading their helicopter, or purchasing a second yacht. It also features a series of fun exhibits, including virtual golfing, clay pigeon shooting organised by the Churchill family's gun firm, and IV drips for those who indulge in the onsite bar a little too much. One of the big draws for the cash-rich but time-poor is that you can fly your private jet or helicopter directly to the event. "The Elite London's unique airport setting allows aircraft owners and private pilots to fly directly to the event. Arrive by air and benefit from complimentary show entry for you and your passengers. Wycombe Air Park's 750 metre tarmac and 610 metre grass runways and helipads can accommodate everything from piston aircraft, turboprops and helicopters. Business aircraft can land at the nearby Oxford Airport where a shuttle awaits to transfer," Elite London's website reads. Among the attendees over the weekend was a small group who were less impressed with the displays of excess. Marching into the centre of the private jet fair, Climate Resistance protesters held up placards and chanted for the abolition of billionaires. The campaigning group is calling for a 100% tax on assets over £10 million, alongside global wealth redistribution, an end to what it describes as "wage theft and worker exploitation", and public investment in a "fair, worker-led energy transition." Climate Resistance targeted the fair due to the particularly high carbon costs associated with private jets and helicopters. Overall private aviation emissions increased by 46% between 2019-2023, with industry expectations of continued strong growth, according to one Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment study. It also found that most of these small planes spew more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in about two hours of flying than the average person does in about a year. In 2023, roughly a quarter million of the super wealthy, who were worth a total of $31 trillion, emitted 17.2 million tons (15.6 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide flying in private jets. That's about the same amount as the overall yearly emissions of the 67 million people who live in Tanzania. Stefan Gossling, a transportation researcher at the business school of Sweden's Linnaeus University, said the issue wasn't so much the emissions, which remain a small part of those produced globally, but the lack of fairness. 'The damage is done by those with a lot of money and the cost is borne by those with very little money,' Gossling said. A separate report by Oxfam claimed that billionaires emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes than the average person does in a lifetime. Armed with banners reading 'ban private jets' and 'wealth tax now,' the protesters were quickly hauled away by security guards. Sam Simons from Climate Resistance said: 'A single private flight to America and back emits more carbon than the average Briton does in a decade. The climate crisis is propelled by the super-rich and cannot be averted while extreme wealth is being used to fund the destructive lifestyles being sold with champagne at Wycombe Air Park. A livable future can't be a luxury. Abolish billionaires and tax private flying out of existence.'
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
'Abolish billionaires' ad campaign appears as Rich List released
Activist group Climate Resistance installed the adverts on bus stops as part of their Abolish Billionaires campaign, highlighting the role the super-rich play in climate change. The posters featured slogans such as 'your kids will live through a climate crisis fuelled by the super-rich', as Oxfam reports showed that billionaires emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes than the average person does in a lifetime. READ MORE: Who is on Sunday Times Rich List in Scotland? See full list Sam Simons, member of Climate Resistance said: 'These posters are a reality check: the Rich List is nothing but a list of poverty profiteers and climate criminals. 'Billionaires aren't just living extravagantly, they're torching the planet and rigging the system in their favour by funding political parties and buying up media houses while the rest of us suffer. 'We're seeing the catastrophic consequences every day: our NHS is crumbling, rent prices are off the charts, every week brings news of another climate disaster — and yet our Prime Minister would rather scapegoat the most vulnerable than risk angering his rich donors by taxing their wealth. 'If we want a liveable planet and a fair economy, we have to start at the top. We don't need more cuts or false promises, we need to tax the billionaire oligarchs out of existence. 'Tax their billions. Fund our future.' Climate Resistance installed the ads as part of their Abolish Billionaires campaign (Image: Climate Resistance)The Sunday Times Rich List, published on Friday May 16, featured seven Scottish billionaires: Anders Holch Povlsen, Glenn Gordon and family, Sir Ian Wood and family, Lady (Philomena) Clark and family, Mahdi al-Tajir, Sandy and James Easdale. This year's list shows the largest drop in the number of billionaires in the UK recorded by the list, going from 177 to 156. A YouGov poll showed that half of Britons have a negative opinion of billionaires, while around 78% support the introduction of a wealth tax.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Climate protesters interrupt Kemi Badenoch's speech at Thatcher conference
Climate change protesters have interrupted a speech by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at an event to commemorate Margaret Thatcher. Two women from a campaign group called Climate Resistance shouted out during Mrs Badenoch's keynote speech at the Centre for Policy Studies' Margaret Thatcher conference. The event at central London's Guildhall was centred around commemorating the legacy of Baroness Thatcher, a founder of the think tank. As Mrs Badenoch began to speak, a woman held up a banner that said 'Abolish Billionaires' and began to shout. The super-rich are profiting from poverty, torching the planet & rigging the system in their favour. We disrupted @KemiBadenoch because the Tories champion the interests of billionaires. It's time to tax the super-rich out of existence & use their wealth to fund climate action. — Climate Resistance (@climate_resist) March 17, 2025 She was ejected from the hall by members of the audience before another protester began to call out about the cost-of-living crisis. Mrs Badenoch could be heard to say that Baroness Thatcher could 'hardly' be blamed for the rising cost of living. But outside, the first protester to be ejected disagreed, telling the PA news agency the Conservative Party had 'allowed extreme wealth to be amassed by a tiny minority, fuelling climate crisis and poverty'. She would not give her name to PA, but added: 'We're calling for a wealth tax, we need to make the super rich pay to redistribute their money for public services and climate action.' Speaking about the Thatcher conference, the protester said: 'It's just shameful that this event exists. We should not be celebrating this person. 'She put us on the path that we're on right now, to this mass inequality we're seeing, the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, the climate crisis, it's all connected to her.' During her speech, Mrs Badenoch said she would be launching 'the Conservative Party's biggest policy renewal programme in 50 years' on Tuesday. She told the conference: 'We're not announcing detailed policies tomorrow, but we know where we need to get to. 'We know that we will cut taxes and scrap burdensome regulations so businesses can grow, jobs can be created and hard work is rewarded. 'We know we will fight for secure borders and law and order because a country that cannot defend itself at home or abroad is a country in decline. 'We know we must shrink the size of the state and end Government waste and dependency because people should decide how to spend their money, not politicians. 'And we know we must must stand up for Britain's values and history because we should never apologise for our success.'
The Independent
17-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Climate protesters interrupt Kemi Badenoch's speech at Thatcher conference
Climate change protesters have interrupted a speech by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at an event to commemorate Margaret Thatcher. Two women from a campaign group called Climate Resistance shouted out during Mrs Badenoch's keynote speech at the Centre for Policy Studies' Margaret Thatcher conference. The event at central London's Guildhall was centred around commemorating the legacy of Baroness Thatcher, a founder of the think tank. As Mrs Badenoch began to speak, a woman held up a banner that said 'Abolish Billionaires' and began to shout. She was ejected from the hall by members of the audience before another protester began to call out about the cost-of-living crisis. Mrs Badenoch could be heard to say that Baroness Thatcher could 'hardly' be blamed for the rising cost of living. But outside, the first protester to be ejected disagreed, telling the PA news agency the Conservative Party had 'allowed extreme wealth to be amassed by a tiny minority, fuelling climate crisis and poverty'. She would not give her name to PA, but added: 'We're calling for a wealth tax, we need to make the super rich pay to redistribute their money for public services and climate action.' Speaking about the Thatcher conference, the protester said: 'It's just shameful that this event exists. We should not be celebrating this person. 'She put us on the path that we're on right now, to this mass inequality we're seeing, the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, the climate crisis, it's all connected to her.' During her speech, Mrs Badenoch said she would be launching 'the Conservative Party's biggest policy renewal programme in 50 years' on Tuesday. She told the conference: 'We're not announcing detailed policies tomorrow, but we know where we need to get to. 'We know that we will cut taxes and scrap burdensome regulations so businesses can grow, jobs can be created and hard work is rewarded. 'We know we will fight for secure borders and law and order because a country that cannot defend itself at home or abroad is a country in decline. 'We know we must shrink the size of the state and end Government waste and dependency because people should decide how to spend their money, not politicians. 'And we know we must must stand up for Britain's values and history because we should never apologise for our success.'
