For Peace!

The Stop the City action was billed as a 'Carnival Against War, Oppression and Destruction' which challenged the root cause of all their problems - Capital. It consisted of four separate day-long street blockades of London's financial district between 1983- 1984. One blockade involved 3,000 people and succeeded in causing a significant shortfall in City trading. The actions were not led by a single organisation, though London Greenpeace played a role in initiating the campaign.

Groups were encouraged to organise their own activities within the overarching framework of ‘Stop the City’. Stop the City drew its momentum from the radical edges of the peace movement, the broader anarchist community, and veterans of the earlier free festival counterculture. Much of the information about Stop the City was disseminated through the anarcho-punk scene, which also served as a key network for people to coordinate and travel to London from across the country.

This approach to having a diversity of tactics within the Stop the City actions, also highlighted conflicts regarding the issues of violence and direct action. Many pacifists involved were concerned that individuals might defend themselves against police attacks or arrests, and that buildings could be damaged through what they termed ‘violence against property.’ Others saw this as a strength of the action.