First, my thanks to all of those who supported my Party in the local government elections last week. That we increased, in both the Thanet and Herne Bay parts of my constituency, the number of seats that we hold is a gratifying reflection of the hard work that our candidates put into getting their message across. That we have, as a result, some bright young elected talent is good for our democracy. Together we now have to work hard to deliver on our promises and I am confident that we will do so.

 

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I was called, last week, by a radio station that wanted me to comment on the Opposition Day debate on climate change. This is the stuff of politics and I was perfectly happy to oblige until I discovered that the plan was for me to be interviewed alongside a fourteen year old activist. When I queried the source of this teenage interest I was told that the young person in question had been promoted for the role by Extinction Rebellion. That, to me, is bordering on child abuse.

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Do not misunderstand me: climate change is a very real and present issue and I believe that, in their own time rather than in school time, young people have not only a right but a duty to make their feelings felt and their voices heard. It is, after all, their future use of this planet that adults globally are busy messing up.

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I do, though, draw the line at the emotive exploitation of juveniles for thinly veiled party- political purposes. Ms. Greta Thurnberg, the young Swedish lady who caused a stir during her recent visit to the United Kingdom, is impressive both in her articulate command of English and in the deployment of her campaigning skills but I and many others have regarded her performance - for that is what it was- with a sense of unease. Was this a spontaneous prodigious exhortation of her desire to Save the Planet? Or was it an extension of a Mother’s desire to attract attention to a cause to which she is politically and obsessively committed? And does the end justify the means?

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In fact, the Extinction Rebellion clogging up of London has had, I believe, very little positive and some negative effect. Gluing your backside to the glass wall above the chamber of the House of Commons may have attracted some vicarious publicity but curiously politicians are aware of and are addressing the concerns irrespective of that kind of showboating!

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The overwhelming majority of my colleagues on both sides of the Houses of Parliament have either young children or grandchildren ourselves. Our concern for Planet Earth is not altruistic but very largely selfish. Speaking entirely personally I care far more about my grandchildren than even my dogs or virtually any other thing. Having enjoyed my own natural environment in my childhood I care passionately about the kind of World that they will inherit and either thank or blame us for. That, I think, goes for most of us.

The difference between those in Government and ‘ordinary people’ however (as if politicians were somehow a breed apart) is that we have to deal with what is practicable, achievable and affordable within a timescale that is realistic and will do the job while commanding the support of a majority of the population.

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We could, I suppose, ban all carbon- fuelled everything by 2025. Would that be workable and would the destruction of every internal combustion engine powered vehicle, for example, be politically viable by that date? No. And to try to pretend otherwise is patently dishonest.

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This United Kingdom is at the forefront of very many environmental initiatives and we are already setting an example to the developed world. Can we do more and faster? Almost certainly yes, and if we can we will. But we do not need the disruption of the daily lives of people going about their lawful business or the manipulation of children to goad us into action. We are already very much on the case - and have been for some time.

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