Twice jailed Just Stop Oil supporter Mark Coleman to stand in parliamentary by-election

Reverend Mark Coleman - a long-time climate campaigner and Just Stop Oil supporter who has twice been jailed for taking nonviolent direct action - is standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election.

Mark, 64, worked as a vicar in Rochdale town centre until his retirement, due to Parkinson’s disease, in 2020. He continues to serve as a Church of England priest and lives with his wife, Wendy, a former Labour councillor and assistant portfolio holder for climate change. They have two adult sons.

Mark said: "The people of Rochdale deserve the truth - and that is we need radical action on climate right now to stand any chance of a safe and stable future. Government policies have put us well on the way to climate hell, and the Labour Party is willing to let that happen.

"I'm horrified that the Labour Party will not revoke the Tory new oil and gas licences given out by this corrupt government. Rosebank is the UK’s largest undeveloped field and the emissions will cause massive suffering and death. I want the people of Rochdale to be able to ‘Vote change’ in this election to show they want failing Westminster politicians to step up and defend our future.

"We need politicians who will act to stop global energy companies burning our future to make eye-watering profits.

"We need MPs who put the defence of ordinary people ahead of big business. MPs who understand that the climate and cost of living crises are part of the same thing - a system which benefits the rich elites at the expense of the rest of us. MPs who do what is right, rather than what is easy. If elected, I will be such an MP.

"What is happening in Gaza is genocide and I call for an immediate ceasefire. We have one of the highest rates of child poverty in the UK. Our food banks are at their limit. Our mortgages, rent and energy bills are sky-high. These problems can be addressed through taxing the super-rich,  removing the billions paid to big oil companies each year in tax breaks and subsidies, and a rapid switch to cheap renewable energy.

"I am not prepared to watch while the government plans for millions of people to die and Labour goes along with it. 2023 was the hottest year on record - soon we’ll be having food shortages. What does that mean for Rochdale families? Both Labour and Tory politicians are not being honest about the scale of the crisis and the speed of change we need to avoid disaster. We need to come together and choose life."

Mark is supported by Rochdale Labour Party’s current joint environment officers, Jane Touil and Pat Sanchez.

Jane said: "Mark has complete integrity. He tells the truth about how serious and urgent the climate crisis is. He has sacrificed a great deal in acting on his conscience. We need to rethink the way we do politics so that we can tackle the many connected crises we face. Politicians have failed on climate for 40 years and time has run out."

Pat said: "Mark is honest: he won’t pretend we can wait for the radical changes we need to protect future generations.

"He appreciates the work of committed local councillors to protect what they can, but knows they lack the powers and resources to do what is necessary. The situation will only change with urgent action at national level.

"I know my support for Mark means leaving the Labour Party, which makes me sad - but not as sad as seeing Labour let huge climate-destroying oil and gas projects go ahead."

Mark’s wife, Wendy, herself a former Rochdale Labour Party environment officer, also supports Mark’s bid to be the next MP.

When Mark was a vicar in Liverpool, he helped set up a community garden and café, and stood for the Green Party in council elections. In 2019, he joined Christian Climate Action and had his first climate protest arrest.

In 2020 he helped set up Extinction Rebellion Rochdale. In 2021, recognising the urgent need for home insulation to reduce dangerous emissions and prevent deaths in cold and damp homes in Rochdale, he took action with Insulate Britain. He was arrested nine times for sitting on London roads, including the M25.

In 2022, when Just Stop Oil was established, he was arrested for holding a sign that said “Jesus Wept” outside the Kingsbury Oil Terminal in the midlands. He has broken high court injunctions and spent time in prison in Birmingham and London because of what he describes as “putting my body on the line” so that the government “acts to protect the people who elected them instead of increasing the profits of friends in the big oil companies.”