Reform's Tice accused of climate misinformation — SkimNews
SkimNews Take
The backlash comes from nurses and medical experts rather than climate scientists, signaling the political fault line has shifted from contesting climate science to contesting its public-health framing.
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Richard Tice, Reform's deputy leader, told a press conference it was "arrogant" to try to stop the climate emergency, urging people to enjoy the warmth and celebrate better English wine.
- Bridget Phillipson, the Labour party chair, called the remarks "tone-deaf" as wildfires rage across the UK and drought threatens water supplies and food security.
- The UK government estimates 2,877 people died from high temperatures during May and June heatwaves — double the figure for all of last summer — with temperatures exceeding 35C multiple times and the summer costing an estimated £4bn in economic output.
- The Royal College of Nursing said nurses were collapsing in hospitals reaching 36 degrees, calling climate change "a public health emergency" and demanding action to reduce emissions.
- New figures in the Lancet show older people are affected by heat at lower temperatures than previously thought, prompting warnings from Age UK and Swansea University researcher Simon Williams.
- Reform has received tens of millions of pounds from fossil-fuel-connected donors since 2019, most notably £5m from jet fuel broker Christopher Harborne, whose gift to Nigel Farage is now at the centre of a parliamentary inquiry.
- Tice called for government investment in desalination plants, citing the Middle East; the Guardian reported Thames Water's only mainland plant will not restart until winter.
Why it matters: The clash crystallises the gap between Reform's net-zero-scrapping stance and the government's tally of 2,877 heatwave deaths and £4bn in lost output this summer — and lands alongside fresh scrutiny of fossil-fuel-linked donations bankrolling the party.
Ask SkimNews
