A controversial form of political campaigning, direct action seeks to confront society, trigger debate and incite change. While some defend it’s validity as a peaceful and vital part of a truly liberal democracy, others decry the impact of the disruption caused, and the cost to public services.

This high profile panel of speakers will represent a range of lenses through which to explore the effectiveness of direct action, from the suffragettes through to the contemporary environmentalist movement, Extinction Rebellion.

Featuring on the panel –

Helen Pankhurst is a pioneering figure in women’s rights activism and is a senior advisor to CARE International. She is the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, leaders of the British suffragette movement.

Academic and broadcaster Tom Shakespeare is Professor of disability research at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is also the author of Genetic Politics: from eugenics to genome and Disability Rights and Wrongs.

Climate change activists Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, in order to make the Government address the climate change emergency upon us.