About 100 people, mostly women, gathered in the Oxfordshire village of Charlbury on Tuesday to protest against US vice-president JD Vance, who is staying nearby. Organised by the Stop Trump Coalition, the ‘Dance Against Vance’ event featured placards criticising Vance’s policies and remarks, including his dismissal of Democrats as ‘childless cat ladies’ and his treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Among the protesters was Sue Moon, a therapist from Chipping Norton, who carried a placard reading ‘Cotswold childless cat ladies say go home’. She said the Cotswolds had become a bolt-hole for the rich and powerful, adding: ‘We don’t want anything to do with people like him.’ Another attendee, Natasha Phillips, travelled from Bath to display a sign reading: ‘JD Vance – the guy who bullied a war hero from the comfort of his couch.’ She described his behaviour towards Zelenskyy as ‘disgusting’.
Long-time Charlbury resident and former councillor Chris Tatton called Vance’s ambush of the Ukrainian president ‘one of the worst things I have seen in a lifetime of watching politics’. Retired union organiser Steve Akers said the sight of starving children in Gaza was even worse, claiming it would not happen without the US government. Other placards read ‘Make Charlbury great again – go home’, ‘Not too posh to protest’, and ‘Rolling hills. Not rolling back climate change’.
The protest comes as the area has become a magnet for celebrities and the wealthy, with former prime minister David Cameron living nearby and Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop drawing crowds. Clarkson, who once called Vance a ‘bearded God-botherer’ in a Times column, posted a sarcastic video of a peaceful Cotswolds scene, writing: ‘Utter chaos caused by Vance. How will we ever manage?’ Vance is believed to be staying in an 18th-century manor house owned by lightbulb millionaire Johnny Hornby and his wife Pippa, who are friends of Cameron.
Protesters also expressed concerns over Vance’s environmental policies. Rachel, a carer from Banbury, said: ‘I’m most worried about his environmental policies. They risk eliminating the whole of humanity, all the creatures on the Earth.’ The event included a Colin the Caterpillar cake with Vance’s face attached, and a boy wearing a T-shirt with a cheerful Canadian motif. Local resident Jonathan Mazower, who did not attend, voiced anger over the disruption caused by Vance’s visit, with roads and footpaths closed and cars searched.
