The anti-capitalist collective responsible for dousing the Crown Jewels in custard is now setting its sights on a new target: a mass shoplifting campaign at Waitrose supermarkets. This initiative is being spearheaded by Take Back Power (TBP), a group seen as the heir to Just Stop Oil (JSO). Their plan involves pilfering goods from upscale grocery stores to redistribute the items to those in need, serving as a protest against economic disparity.
Take Back Power describes itself as a fresh, nonviolent civil resistance movement. They are urging the UK government to create a ‘permanent citizen’s assembly’—a so-called House of the People with the authority to levy taxes on extreme wealth and address the nation’s inequalities. The group asserts that their mission is to stand against the ‘super-rich,’ whom they accuse of driving society towards collapse.
As a successor to Just Stop Oil, Take Back Power has successfully secured £56,000 through an online fundraising campaign aimed at tackling economic inequality. Part of this fund, amounting to £26,000, is earmarked to facilitate public meetings and training sessions across eight cities. These events, scheduled from January to March, are intended to galvanize new participants into action.
The say members pledge to resist the ‘super-rich’ who are ‘driving us towards social collapse’.
The group – a successor to Just Stop Oil – has raised £56,000 in an online fundraiser for its campaigns to ‘tackle economic inequality’ and impose greater taxes on the rich.
The group said it intended to earmark £26,000 to run public meetings and training in eight cities to ‘mobilise new people into action from January to March’.
A further £20,000 will compensate new members who undertake actions, £12,000 will pay for their accommodation, £6,000 their travel costs and £4,000 their equipment.
At the group’s formal launch at Limehouse Town Hall, east London, on Saturday, founder members set out a strategy for further disruption this spring.
Privately educated Arthur Clifton, 25, is a leading organiser for anti-capitalist group Take Back Power and attended Latymer Upper School, one of the country’s top public schools
Metropolitan Police said four people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage
The pair unfurled a banner saying ‘democracy has crumbled, tax the rich’ after smothering the glass display case with the food items
According to the Telegraph, Arthur Clifton, co-founder of TBP and a former prominent JSO activist, told an audience of around 200: ‘We have seen that food is locked behind skyrocketing prices. Less and less people can afford less and less food.’
He added: ‘We’ll be coming down to London in April for a week of action – a massive take-back with 50 to 100 people just going in and clearing out a Waitrose.’
Mr Clifton, originally from Chiswick, West London, said the group was also planning ‘takeovers’ of high-end stores in areas such as Oxford Circus.
Clifton grew up in an upmarket West London property and attended Latymer Upper School, one of the top public schools in the country, where annual fees are £30,000.
Clifton’s father, Michael, 58, is a boss at international insurance brokers Chaucer, which boasts of having taken £2.3 billion in premiums in 2024.
Records show he was recently living in a £2 million house.
Four people were arrested after activists smeared apple crumble and custard over a glass case containing the Crown Jewels inside the Tower of London.
The campaigners, who have identified themselves as members of Take Back Power, then revealed a sign saying: ‘Democracy has crumbled – tax the rich’.
Take Back Power officially launched itself by projecting messages onto the Houses of Parliament
Just days before, Take Back Power activists emptied bags of manure under the Christmas tree at The Ritz in Mayfair in protest against the ‘obscenely wealthy’.
Security guards swiftly removed the protesters after the manure was emptied under the tree.
Among those taking part in the protests were an NHS worker and a former doctor.
Take Back Power officially launched itself by projecting messages onto the Houses of Parliament.
