Politicians must match rhetoric with reality

HAVING listened to Boris Johnson’s warm and fiery words about the need to tackle the climate catastrophe, I cannot be alone in being astonished and wondering if the Prime Minister is, in fact, living in a parallel universe?

His own policies are literally leading us to a climate crisis!

Just a week after his government and his Chancellor slashed taxes on domestic flights, froze fuel duty for cars again and failed to even mention the climate emergency once in his speech, our everyday experience shows how out of touch with the climate emergency politicians in power today actually are.

For example, we have a situation where it is far cheaper to travel to places like Durham, Glasgow and Edinburgh by plane rather than by rail. Aviation still receives huge subsidies from the government as aviation fuel is tax-free! Why?

Countries like France linked huge Covid crisis bailouts for aviation to ensuring that any destination that could be reached by train did not have unnecessary and unfair aviation competition, too.

Boris Johnson’s administration made no such conditions, and just handed over the cash.

Where were the opposition voices raising this, why weren’t the opposition insisting on conditions and climate emergency measures and for the real costs of aviation including air pollution to be factored into prices?

Are Labour much better? Jon Ashworth voted for an expansion of Heathrow, despite its ruinous impact on the environment, and has been absent or abstained from several key environmental votes.

As shadow health, he ought to be taking a huge lead in this area regarding air pollution, but even in his own air polluted and congested constituency he seems to remain pretty silent on this issue.

We desperately need brave and long-term political leadership, and we cannot simply pretend that we can carry on as we are. That’s impossible.

Can I please encourage everyone to contact their political leaders and plead with them to do what’s right and match rhetoric with reality. It’s simply not good enough to make impassioned speeches, and shut their eyes to what the reality of day-to-day life in Britain is actually like.

Mags Lewis