An ordinary REBEL

From Herts county councillor to arrested climate protester, Amanda King is one of the growing number of normally lawabiding people eschewing regular politics for direct action

- Louise McEvoy

When the house is on fire the normal rules don’t apply – it’s not a crime to break a window to save those insides.’

This is the maxim of environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, and it is used by former Hertfordshire county councillor Amanda King to explain how she came to be arrested during the movement’s London protests in October.

The charity worker, who has lived in Stevenage since 1969, is no stranger to activism having joined the Stevenage Labour Party at the age of 14, participating in door knocks and leaflet drops with a youthful optimism that hasn’t waned over the years, despite repeatedly hitting brick walls when it comes to meaningful action over environmental issues.

‘I was increasingly concerned about the environment as a teenager,’ the 61-year-old explains. Acid rain, groundwater pollution and damage to the ozone layer were just some of the environmental issues which defined the 1970s and 80s, but, Amanda says, they didn’t get any political traction.

‘The environmental groups were single issue groups that didn’t come together as a national organisation with a clear set of demands, which is why Extinction Rebellion is so wonderful and so timely,’ she adds.

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement formed in October 2018 to elicit change in the face of an unprecedented climate emergency. Amanda has been a member of the group since the beginning, having become increasingly frustrated with the three main political parties in the UK.