US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s English getaway stirs up local opposition
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People protesting against US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s visit to the English countryside and his politics on Aug 12 in Charlbury, in Britain’s Cotswolds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- US VP J.D. Vance's UK visit sparked local protests in Charlbury due to his politics and the disruption caused by his presence.
- Protesters, including the Stop Trump Coalition, voiced disapproval with signs and slogans, targeting Vance and his policies.
- Vance's meetings with UK politicians like Robert Jenrick and Nigel Farage, alongside the disruption in the Cotswolds, fuelled discontent.
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CHARLBURY, England - US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s working holiday in Britain was met with dismay by some locals on Aug 12, who gathered to register their disapproval of both his politics and the turmoil he has brought to their quiet corner of the English countryside.
Mr Vance has mixed work with leisure while in Britain, staying first with Foreign Minister David Lammy at the Chevening estate in Kent – where the two held a formal bilateral meeting
On Aug 12, several dozen people, including activists from the Stop Trump Coalition, gathered in the nearby town of Charlbury to stage what they called a “Not Welcome Party”.
They posed with cake and signs, including some with pro-Palestinian slogans and messages saying “go home”.
A van showing an unflattering manipulated image of a bald Mr Vance drove around Charlbury.
A van displaying a meme image of US Vice-President J.D. Vance travelling through the town of Charlbury, in Britain’s Cotswolds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“We want to show our feelings, hopefully some of it will get through to Vance and the American press and to Ukraine, so people know what we stand for,” said Mr Brian Murray, 65, a retired tour guide.
“The fact he is in our backyard gives us a great opportunity to have our voices heard.”
Mr Vance will meet Mr Robert Jenrick on the evening of Aug 12, a source in the opposition Conservative Party said.
Mr Jenrick was runner-up in the Conservative leadership contest in 2024, and is widely considered next in line for the job if it becomes available.
The Telegraph newspaper said Mr Vance would also meet Mr Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform UK party.
Mr Vance has developed a warm friendship with Labour’s Mr Lammy, officials said, with the two bonding over their difficult childhoods and shared Christian faith.
Long a destination of the British elite – former British prime minister David Cameron lives in Dean – the Cotswolds is also becoming increasingly popular with wealthy Americans, some of whom moved to the region following the election win of US President Donald Trump in 2024. TV personality Ellen DeGeneres has cited the election result as the reason behind her full-time relocation to the area.
Around Charlbury, motorcades roared along the narrow country lanes and cordons blocked off roads to Dean, rendering it inaccessible.
While the Aug 12 protest was unlikely to disrupt the Vice-President’s trip, for some locals, Mr Vance’s politics and the disruption were too much to swallow.
“It’s a massive intrusion, and it’s not just the fact our lives are disrupted, but it’s who he is,” said Mr Jonathan Mazower, the head of communications for non-governmental organisation Survival International, who owns one of Dean’s 15 homes.
“I feel and many others feel we can’t allow someone like that to come into our village and not say something publicly against it.” REUTERS
