by Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Oxford on Saturday against the World Economic Forum-backed idea of so-called 15-minute cities, as local government announced it would test such a scheme.
Last year, Oxfordshire County and City Councils in England proposed a pilot scheme for a ‘traffic filtering system’, which would see the installation of number plate reading cameras to penalize citizens who drive their cars into other parts of the city without a special permit or residence permit certain times of the day.
The plan, which is due to go on trial next year, is part of a broader movement to create a supposedly greener ’15 Minute City’.
“The 15-Minute Neighborhoods proposal aims to ensure that every resident has everything they need (shops, healthcare, parks) within a 15-minute walk of their home. They aim to support and add services, not limit them,” the Oxford Council claimed.
OXFORD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 18: A protester holds a sign criticizing the inequality of 15 minute cities as protesters gather at Broad Street on February 18, 2023 in Oxford, England. The 15-minute cities concept suggests that all services, amenities, work and leisure are within a 15-20 minute walk or bike ride from a person’s front door. The protesters argue that the measures will turn areas into ghettos and limit their freedom of movement. Car trips are restricted at certain times of the day and monitored by Number Plate Recognition Cameras (ANPR) and fines. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
The idea of a 15-minute city was first coined by Colombian-born Parisian professor Carlos Moreno, who was previously a member of the revolutionary socialist guerrilla movement M-19.
It has since been championed by the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, as well as globalist organizations such as Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum (WEF).
Local government has denied that people will be confined to their districts, but many have expressed concerns that the concept could lay the groundwork for more totalitarian control, particularly in service of the green agenda, with some expressing fears that they are working on it could be used to being imposed climate change lockdowns – a claim the council denies.
I spoke to her @bbc today at the Oxford protest against 15 minute cities (let’s see how they edit the interview…). People are fed up with being told where they can and can’t go. None of this is about climate or pollution. It’s about power and control. #Resist https://t.co/MrAy7b69XO
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) February 18, 2023
Laurence Fox, star of the film Breitbart News, attended Saturday’s protest my son hunter WHO said: “People are fed up with being told where they can and can’t go. None of this is about climate or pollution. It’s about power and control.”
Talking to the locals Oxford student Speaking to the newspaper on Saturday, one of the organizers of the protesters said: “We are here to come together, to say no to 15-minute cities, we are here because we are incredibly concerned about the attack on our rights, freedom of movement and everything.” , which comes from free movement… Most of the people you speak to here will advocate for a return to the local economy. But that won’t achieve that, it will limit people’s rights.”
OXFORD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 18: Protesters gather on Broad Street to demonstrate and listen to speeches against 15 minute cities on February 18, 2023 in Oxford, England. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
Another protester added: “We are obviously against this introduction of 15-minute cities and the implications of what that means when you effectively lock people into zones in their own hometowns.
“It sounds like this wonderful idea because it would be awesome if we had all these nice little community centers with amenities in close proximity, but the actual reality of that is you’re haunted and haunted in your own town. They want permits to leave the zone you are in.”
#Oxford Masked counter-protesters call 15 Min City protesters fascist pic.twitter.com/HTIWDe39lM
— Anti-Lockdown Alliance (GLOBAL) (@Demo2020cracy) February 18, 2023
Around 2,000 people attended the main protest on Saturday, according to local police, although mask-wearing “anti-fascist” counter-protesters were also present, as local left-wing activist groups such as Stand Up To Racism claimed the protest against 15-Minute Cities was in fact a ruse the extreme right to push recruitment.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
