From fracking to North Sea drilling, party’s leaders and members give climate solutions the cold shoulder at conference
“Climate change is happening,” said Herbert Crossman, a pensioner from Harrow. “I don’t think we need to bring the country to its knees to stop it, though.”
Twelve thousand people are supposed to be attending Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham over three days this week (according to Reform at least), and Crossman is one of them. Their leader, Nigel Farage, has said it is “ridiculous” to refer to carbon dioxide as a pollutant and added: “I can’t tell you whether CO2 is leading to warming or not”. The party deputy, Richard Tice, has said it is “absolute garbage” to claim that human activity is the main cause of the climate crisis.
But what does the rest of the party membership think? Do they share these views?
Crossman appears to have a more nuanced position, saying that we should, ideally, burn fewer fossil fuels: “Well, yes, we should, but the thing is, it is all kind of relative. The fact is, we can do what we like, but we’re such a small part in the puzzle. If China don’t start to do something about it, then it’s a moot point.”
