Climate comments are ill-informed PHOTO

READERS’ OF THE WEEK

I write to express my admiration for the children who joined in the ‘climate change’ protest on February 15.

I was disappointed to read the comments of Mark Gardner in the ‘Gardner Digs’ column, which struck me as being complacent and ill-informed. Mr Gardner suggests that children should enter into debates or essay-writing rather than engaging in public protest.

Climate change poses an existential threat to society and nothing could be more important to young people.

I think that public protest about this issue is essential until governments start to treat climate change as the outright emergency it undoubtedly is.

Mr Warley and I are both competing for Westgate Ward in May’s council elections. Last week Mr Warley boasted to your readers that only Labour can beat the Tories here.

If Mr Warley spent a little more time campaigning in Canterbury rather than Herne Bay, where he seems to fancy his chances next time parliamentary elections come round, he might understand that there is no Tory vote left to beat - in the city centre at least. The choice is simply between the Lib Dems and Labour.

The Lib Dems have held a seat in our city centre ward since 1984 and led arguably one of the most successful administrations in recent memory when we ran the council 12 years ago. We have also been the only party to increase the number of UK council seats we hold this year.

In Canterbury city centre I genuinely don’t know whether it will go Labour or Lib Dem. The hard left is scarily good at rabble-rousing, and Momentum-backed Mr Warley will have the full support of its fearsome and militant social media warriors. However, I hope local voters will follow the former Labour MPS who this week turned their back on antisemitism and the Brexit-backing Jeremy Corbyn.

But best wishes to all candidates.