🧃No More Soup for You

Welcome to The Strawman, the daily climate newsletter that’s no longer glued to the road — mostly because it’s just too hard to get orange paint out of corduroy. Today, we’re talking about a group that went from superglue and soup cans to policy wins and press releases: Just Stop Oil is packing up its hi-vis and calling it a day. Sort of.

Soup, Snooker, and Success?

After three years of theatrical protests — soup on Van Gogh, orange powder at the World Snooker Championship, and more M25 disruptions than most commuters care to remember — Just Stop Oil says its central demand has now become UK government policy. With Labour promising no new oil and gas licences, and a recent court ruling branding new ones unlawful, the group has declared “mission accomplished” and is retiring its trademark disruption by the end of April.

It’s a big moment for the climate movement. Whether you saw JSO as righteous civil resistance or a group of traffic-stopping chaos agents, their impact on the public discourse (and Google search results for “Sunflowers”) is undeniable.

From Orange Powder to Policy Wins

JSO’s evolution from protest to policy mirror has come amid changing political tides and legal crackdowns. The group claims it’s helped keep 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the ground, but public tolerance for their tactics has worn thin — and so has media coverage. Jail time has become more common, with new anti-protest laws ensuring that paint-splattered protests are now more likely to land you in a cell than on the evening news.

While they’re officially stepping back from direct action, JSO isn’t dissolving. Their members are expected to join other groups, and their final hurrah — a last protest in Parliament Square — is on the books. The group’s also focused on supporting jailed activists and fighting what they describe as “oppressive” protest laws in the UK.

Legacy, Law, and the Future of Protest

Over 3,300 arrests. 180 prison sentences. A co-founder doing four years for M25 disruptions. Just Stop Oil’s campaign was as much about challenging legal boundaries as it was about climate policy — and those battles are far from over. They’ve drawn attention to just how far governments will go to curb protest, especially when it's disruptive. As one Bristol University study pointed out, media coverage of JSO evolved quickly from platforming their message to focusing solely on the spectacle.

So what’s next for the UK’s climate movement? Probably fewer soup-throwing stunts — but maybe more behind-the-scenes strategy, courtroom drama, and political engagement. If JSO’s first act was chaos, their second might just be quieter — but no less determined.

The Takeaway
Just Stop Oil’s paint-flinging, road-blocking chapter is closing — but the climate fight rolls on, just with less soup and more strategy.