Go on then, let’s get the party poppers out shall we? After the UK recorded nearly 3,000 heat-related mortalities and 1,000 wildfires over the summer, Richard Tice is ignoring the existential downsides of climate change, and instead, he wants UK citizens to embrace the record temperatures.
Richard Tice says we should ‘celebrate’ climate change
Five blistering heatwaves and one of the worst water shortages in living memory have accompanied the rising mercury over the last few months, leaving more than 75% of England and Wales in drought. Farming authorities also forecast that the current harvest ‘will be the worst in 40 years’.
Infrastructure has buckled, with the extreme heat being identified as a direct factor in train derailments and increased vehicular breakdowns. As the temperatures reached 38C in Stourbridge, fires raged across the West Midlands town, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
But sure, apart from all that, there must be reasons to get the champagne on ice, right? There certainly is if you’re a fossil fuel executive. Companies including BP have seen their profits more than double during Q2, all while the UK and Europe battles against huge-scale natural disasters.
Deadly, devastating fires do little to change Reform supremo’s mind
Richard Tice, therefore, might have to adjust his expectations when he sends the invites out for this particular soiree. During his appearance on Sky News this morning, he was quizzed about comments made last week, where he implored people to stop being so ‘doom and gloom‘ about the weather.
The Reform Deputy Leader said the idea humans could stop climate change is “arrogant” and that instead policies should focus on adapting to it. He also cast doubt on whether climate change was even caused by human activity, sparking a wave of criticism from his opponents in Westminster.
“D’ya remember 1976?” – Richard Tice makes grimly predictable denial
Alas, Mr Tice is only doubling down on this front. On Monday, he stated that the public should ‘celebrate things that are going well’, in reference to the heatwaves. He invoked the summer of 1976, and maintained that ‘more people die of extreme cold’, before ranting about the UK’s water infrastructure.
“We should celebrate things that are going well. The English wine industry is doing well, why wouldn’t we celebrate that? I’m 61, I remember 1976, this summer is similar to that. The climate has always changed, and it always will.”
“When things, in certain industries, are doing well, the right thing to do is to celebrate it. The reality is, more people die of extreme cold than extreme heat. As an island nation that has failed to build a reservoir for 30 years, maybe we should focus on that. We shouldn’t be short of water.” | Richard Tice
And, for those asking ‘did he really say that?’ – The clip is here…