Press Release: Veritas Press C.I.C.
Author: Kamran Faqir
Article Date Published: 06 Sept 2025 at 13:40 GMT
Category: UK | Politics | Climate Change | Reform UK
Source(s): Veritas Press C.I.C. | Multi News Agencies
Birmingham, September 2025 – A Party Conference in the Climate Crosshairs
At Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham this week, where the party claims around 12,000 delegates are in attendance, the rhetoric is clear: “Climate alarmism is over.” The phrase “drill baby, drill” reverberates from the main stage as Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, and other party leaders mount a full-frontal assault on Net Zero, carbon reduction policies, and climate science itself.
Hard Lines From The Top:
- Nigel Farage dismisses calling carbon dioxide a pollutant as “ridiculous,” revealing deep uncertainties: “I can’t tell you whether CO₂ is leading to warming or not.”
- Deputy leader Richard Tice labelled human-induced climate change “absolute garbage,” reinforcing the party’s rejection of mainstream climate science.
- Party chair Dr David Bull ignites laughter as he ridicules Ed Miliband as a “mad swivel-eyed” villain, warning that Miliband’s net-zero push will “rip up our countryside with windmills, substations, pylons,” costing as much as £3 trillion, a claim he mistakenly attributes solely to net-zero costs.
A Divided Base:
Not all members echo the leadership’s hardline stance:
- Herbert Crossman, a pensioner from Harrow, offers a nuanced view: “Climate change is happening… but we don’t need to bring the country to its knees… If China doesn’t act, what we do is moot.” He supports more nuclear energy, mentioning “Rolls-Royce is making a new type of reactor.”
- Danny Skryme, a 64-year-old landlord, lives near Hinkley Point and believes the UK should build much more nuclear. He argues that net-zero policies risk making energy bills prohibitively expensive.
- In contrast, Charlie from Leeds (aged 37) opposes fracking, citing the UK’s geology and the close proximity of communities, making earthquakes a serious concern.
- Simon Evans, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, asserts the Fylde coast is “not conducive to fracking,” with no local plans for such activity.
Yet, Reform’s leadership remains committed to lifting the fracking moratorium and ramping up domestic fossil fuel extraction. Richard Tice proclaimed shale gas as the “energy treasure under our feet.”
“Drill baby, drill” in Action:
- Andrea Jenkyns, Lincolnshire’s mayor, cemented the slogan “drill baby, drill” in a glittering jumpsuit presentation, calling for expanded drilling in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and the North Sea.
- Independent analysis warns that lifting the fracking ban could expose over 100 constituencies to new fossil gas projects.
- A call has emerged for Reform UK to clarify its fracking intentions in Wales, where public sensitivity remains high.
Political-Economic Realities vs. Geological Constraints
Reform UK’s aggressive push for North Sea extraction faces practical headwinds:
- The North Sea is a mature basin, most large, accessible fields are depleted. Remaining fields are smaller, technically challenging, and costly.
- Offshore Energies UK argues that scrapping the high Energy Profits Levy could raise production from 4.3 to 7.5 billion barrels, but such gains would hinge on high oil prices and investor confidence.
- Yet, the government warns that new licences won’t necessarily translate into lower bills or energy security, and environmentalists argue ramped-up extraction would undermine climate goals.
Climate Reality Crashes The Show:
Against this defiant political backdrop, the Earth weighs in with undeniable facts:
- The Met Office confirms that summer 2025 was the hottest summer on record in the UK, with a mean temperature of 16.10 °C, exceeding the 2018 record.
- Such summers are now 70 times more likely because of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.
- The warmth was persistent, through both day and night, with four heatwaves, widespread hosepipe bans, droughts, and strain on agriculture and health systems.
- Experts warn that extremes once worthy of comment, like sustained heat and drought, may become regular features.
What’s Really At Stake?
The Political Fracturing of Net-Zero Consensus:
- Until recently, Net Zero by 2050 was political orthodoxy across main parties. But Reform UK’s emergence and the shifting Conservative tone have shattered that unity.
- A think tank tied to Reform UK, the Centre for a Better Britain, proposes sweeping “Trump-style” constitutional changes, including curtailing the judiciary, repealing the Climate Change Act, and weakening environmental and human-rights laws.
Misplaced Blame and Misleading Claims:
- Reform blames Ed Miliband for rising energy bills, greatly exaggerating the cost of net-zero (citing a misinterpreted £3 trillion figure), and links policies to price hikes in meat production, despite evidence that factors like drought are the real culprits.
- Maurice Cousins of Net Zero Watch claims Miliband-linked think tanks are reducing cattle numbers and hiking meat prices, claims that don’t stand up empirically.
Public Opinion and the “Ordinary Briton”:
- Reform portrays itself as the voice of everyday people, especially those feeling the pinch from high bills. Indeed, members like Crossman and Skryme express scepticism but also reason. Yet, their concerns are shaped by economic insecurity, not denial.
- The contrast to scientific consensus is stark: the summer of 2025 should be a clarion call, not a reason to double down on fossil dependency.
Final Thoughts: Denial vs. Data – Democracy vs. Delay.
Reform UK’s conference, cloaked in populist bravado and fossil-fuel optimism, is out of step with the empirical reality of a rapidly warming UK. While the party rallies behind drilling as if it were a growing crop, science and lived experience point to a nation cooking itself, quite literally, while denying the chef.
The question isn’t just whether Net Zero is politically inconvenient. It’s whether ignoring it is economically negligent, environmentally reckless, and potentially fatal. As this summer’s heatwaves have shown, playing politics with the climate isn’t just irresponsible, it could cost lives.
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