Floods show UK ‘can no longer deny climate emergency’

JEREMY CORBYN claimed the recent flooding in Yorkshire and the East Midlands showed the country “can no longer deny the climate emergency we can see all around us”.

During his speech he reflected on the flooding which saw hundreds of homes flooded and a woman swept to her death in Derbyshire.

He said: “We can no longer deny the climate emergency we can see it all around us, as the recent floods in Yorkshire and the East Midlands have shown. We have no time to waste. The crisis demands swift action, but it isn’t right to load the costs of the climate emergency onto the nurse, the builder or the energy worker.

“So a Labour government will ensure the big oil and gas corporations that profit from heating up our planet will shoulder the burden and pay their fair share through a Just Transition Tax.

“North Sea oil and gas workers have powered this country for decades, often working under dangerous conditions. We won’t hang them out to dry.”

Elsewhere, Labour said it will launch a review into business rates which could place an extra tax on property landlords in a bid to protect UK high streets. The opposition party said rising business rates “are causing real issues for high street retailers and others”.

The party hinted it could reduce or even scrap toll charges for river crossings in England. Drivers have to pay to use 10 river crossings in England on motorways or A roads, including the Humber Bridge between East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire (£1.50 per crossing).

In the arts, Labour says it will maintain the free museum entry policy and launch a ‘Town of Culture competition’, which was previously called for by West Yorkshire’s Yvette Cooper, on top of City of Culture.