The modern environmental direct action movement in the United Kingdom started in 1991 with the formation of the first UK "Earth First!" group[citation needed] for a protest at Dungeness nuclear power station. Within two years, there were fifty Earth First groups and activists linked with other parties in the road protest movement. There were large camps at Twyford Down and the M11 link road protest. By 1997, the Government had decided to reduce its road-building plans by two thirds.
After this success, the environmental movement then took on local struggles such as fighting a quarry at Stanton Moor and opposing a new runway at Manchester Airport. It grew to include different groups such as Camps for Climate Action, Plane Stupid, Reclaim the Streets, Rising Tide and The Land is Ours. In the 2010s, new groups emerged such as Extinction Rebellion, and Grow Heathrow camps protesting against HS2. In the early 2020s there were series of actions by Insulate Britain, Tyre Extinguishers and Just Stop Oil.