Word Up: Apathy among politicians over climate change 'continues to amaze me'

‘Europe Suffers Under Massive Heatwave’, read a spoof Private Eye piece last week.

After noting that the heatwave was ‘made much likelier by the fact we keep on burning huge quantities of oil and gas and coal’, it turned to some supposed stories on other pages: ‘Why dangerous radical Ed Miliband must NEVER be allowed to make any decisions about climate or energy’; ‘Why the Aberdeen win for the Conservatives proves that we must drill, baby, drill!’

Last week saw records tumble in the UK and across Europe: the record for the hottest UK June day was broken three days running; Germany and Denmark recorded their highest temperatures ever.

In total, one survey found that in almost half of European cities, heat records had either been broken or were forecast to be broken.

Here in Salisbury, not far from Thursday’s record-breaking temperatures in Yeovilton, schools were shut and many businesses closed early, if they opened at all.

For self-employed people like me, it was a sticky few days of working from home – trying to hit a book deadline with temperatures in my office of 34 degrees.

What’s curious in all of this is how blasé so many of our leaders and politicians remain to all of this.

Back in July 2022, when temperatures hit 40 degrees, that year’s heatwaves led to 3,000 excess deaths.

Yet despite the Met Office issuing its first-ever red extreme heat warning, the government response (under a recently resigned Boris Johnson) was muted.

Last week, by an odd quirk, the Met Office’s section red heat warning took place just after another Prime Minister had resigned.

Meanwhile, politicians make light of the extreme heat.

‘Don’t you know there’s a red warning?’ Nigel Farage joked at the ARC political conference in London.

‘We’re in the red zone … There’s a danger to life.

‘I’m astonished you’re all here.’

His Restore rival Ruper Lowe replied to a Zack Polanksi tweet calling for ‘rapid decarbonisation and adaptation’ by saying ‘we need a new frightening word … that strikes fear into the heart of the British people.

‘My suggestion? Summer.’

Meanwhile, our local MP John Glen spent time up in Aberdeen earlier in the month, campaigning for the Conservative candidate on a ticket of expanding oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

I think that is the same John Glen MP who a few years ago told the protesting schoolchildren of Salisbury that his government got their message about the environment and would do something about it.

This disconnect between climate change and its causes continues to amaze me.

It isn’t the first time I’ve written this column.

Sadly, I don’t think it will be the last.