Reform's Tice Tells Britons to 'Enjoy' Heat, Not Fight Climate
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- Richard Tice, Reform's deputy leader, said at a Monday press conference that tackling climate breakdown is 'arrogant' and that people should 'enjoy' the warmth, arguing adaptation is smarter than trying to stop climate change
- The summer's heatwaves pushed UK temperatures above 35C multiple times and caused an estimated 2,877 deaths during May and June, with the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit attributing over 1,100 directly to climate change and putting the economic cost at around £4bn
- The National Farmers' Union warned farmers face 'one of the worst ever' harvests, while firefighters battled wildfires across Derbyshire, the Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland in what the source describes as the UK's most widespread 'firewave'
- Reform has received tens of millions of pounds in donations from fossil fuel-connected figures since 2019, including a £5m gift from jet fuel broker Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage now at the centre of a parliamentary inquiry
- Alasdair Johnstone of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said only reaching net zero by 2050 can prevent such impacts becoming more common and severe, citing over 1,000 wildfires that have 'devastated the landscape, displaced people, and destroyed homes'
- Amy Cameron of Greenpeace UK said Tice's comments show 'a party bankrolled by fossil fuel interests will keep denying the climate crisis for its funders' benefit' even as impacts become undeniable
- Tice called for government investment in desalination plants as an adaptation measure, saying they 'worked well in the Middle East, where he spends much of his time,' and floated better English wine as a positive of warmer summers
Why it matters: Tice's comments crystallize a clash between a rising UK political party dismissing climate action and the documented human cost of recent heat — 2,877 deaths in May–June with over 1,100 tied directly to climate change, plus a £4bn economic hit and widespread wildfires. Reform's fossil-fuel donor ties, including Christopher Harborne's £5m gift now under parliamentary inquiry, give critics the ammunition to argue the party's position serves funders rather than constituents facing record heat.
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