Corbyn’s praise for school eco-truants
JEREMY Corbyn will praise children truanting from school today to take part in demonstrations against global warming.
Thousands of events will take place in a worldwide day of action, inspired by the example of 16-year- old activist Greta Thunberg, who walked out of school each Friday to protest outside the Swedish parliament.
Mr Corbyn will tell climate strikers due to gather outside the Houses of Parliament they are an ‘inspiration’.
But a Government spokesman said that, while it praised children for their ‘passion’ in tackling climate change, it did not support disruption to education.
The UK Student Climate Network says more than 200 events are taking place across the UK, with adults encouraged to join the youngsters in the strike for the first time.
The Beano comic s ai d it supported strikers, while actors, artists and staff at London arts venues said they will walk out to join the Global Climate Strike.
The protest group Extinction Rebellion said it will blockade roads outside the port of Dover on Sunday to draw attention to food shortages – which it warns will come about if global warming continues at current rates.
Mr Corbyn, who met Greta when she visited the UK in April, will tell an event at Parliament Square: ‘To the young people l eading by example … I want to say thank you. Thank you for educating us about the climate crisis and the emergency of species extinction and biodiversity loss.’
He will also use the occasion to attack Prime Minister Boris Johnson and brand US President Donald Trump ‘a f ull- blown climate denier’.
Mr Corbyn will add: ‘But when we see young people demanding urgent action, it’s an inspiration.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘ ‘ We share the passion young people and others have for tackling climate change. We encourage constructive engagement on the issue of climate change which doesn’t come at the expense of our children’s education or excessive disruption.’
Meanwhile, Scotland’s largest teaching union has said pupils should not be punished for missing school to demonstrate over climate change. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has written to Scotland’s 32 councils urging them to respect pupils’ rights to take part in the action.
In the letter, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: ‘While the EIS is not encouraging pupils/ students to participate in anticlimate change strikes, we recognise that many will do so.
‘Their right to do so should be respected and participants should not be sanctioned or punished as a consequence.’