Time for change, time for the grown-ups

In Ukraine the people are fighting for their nation – for a future free from the disgusting influence of the criminal clique in Moscow. Thank you, Ukrainians, for showing us that democracy is worth fighting for. Dorset is doing its bit in support – more than 400 Ukrainian families have joined our West Country ranks and are starting to make their own contribution. Meanwhile, we had a great Lib Dem outcome in the Somerton and Frome by-election. What pleased me the most was the evident faith put in the strength and capability of our local candidate, Sarah Dyke. She is a genuine local – of our land and our rural ethos, and will make a difference “up in the Smoke”. More power to her elbow, I say. I spent the day “telling” outside a couple of polling stations, much of the time alongside my Conservative equivalent. It wasn’t long into the morning before we all knew what was happening, just from the various comments of people en passant. My oppo wasn’t surprised or downcast. There was, however, a fatalism about the situation and a wish that the last 18 months in the Tory party hadn’t happened. Our discussions ranged from illegal migration (France’s fault) to climate change (China’s fault). These may be the popular sentiments but, of course, they lay the blame on the effect, not the cause. The real causes lie in complex geo-politics, and in the West’s combination of consumerism and postindustrial mindset. It is sad to hear of the likely rolling back of what Johnson labelled “Green crap” as a result of the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. It is typical of our short-termist, keeppower-at-any-cost politics that the knee-jerk reaction from the governing party is to appeal to the pound in your pocket today and stick it to the next generation ... Tory to a tee! Time to move on from government for the populists, by the populists, egged on by the populist press. On to something a bit more serious.

So, first up, how about proportional representation as a means to get the whole country engaged in the process of government?

Today’s winnertakes-all system results in the disengagement of about two-thirds of the population, because they are being governed by people they did not vote for.

“What about the virtues of Strong Government?” I hear you cry. What virtues? The stonking majority of 2019 has created a monster now controlled by its right wing. No wonder it just goes round in circles!

Next stop for us is MidBedfordshire – home to the dreadful Dorries, a powerful minister under Johnson and once with the future of the BBC in her gift. More than time for change: it is time for the grownups. Time for Sarah Dyke and her like.

Mike Chapman North Dorset LibDems

The ‘Rishi Sunak helicoptering in to announce a carbon-capture project hypocrisy’ is a fine dead cat of a story.

Cynically positioned alongside news of his first family holiday abroad in four years, it’s clear that many ordinary holidaymakers in the same position will feel some sympathy for him. But it’s pure distraction. The real story is Sunak’s decision to grant 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences – demonstrating an ongoing investment by the government in irreversible damage to the planet. Firstly, 80 per cent of North Sea oil is exported. If we needed more, there’s clearly enough existing supply; simply redirect it to the domestic market. And as for the gas – this was not, as advertised, a move that will ease household energy bills. Before the war in Ukraine, Russia provided just four per cent of the UK’s gas (most of it comes from Norway). Prices rose due to the war in Ukraine because they’re set by global traders. Will more gas from the North Sea mean cheaper domestic fuel bills? Unlikely. Rishi Sunak can’t force the licensees – many backed by multi-national companies – to sell it at a discounted price in the UK. They trade at the international prices. In the face of this tidal wave of environmental vandalism, the announcement of the new carboncapture project in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, is like offering an egg cup to bail out an already-sinking ship.

In the same week that the Met Office announced that last year’s 40º-plus UK heatwave will be considered on the cool side within a few decades, and the UN declared July 2023 to be the hottest month in human history, the Tories are clearly not taking climate change seriously enough.

In light of this decision – and others like it – the UK’s Net Zero by 2050 target seems increasingly unachievable. Meanwhile the recently reinforced commitment to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 seems more and more likely to buckle under pressure from the loony libertarian wing of the Tory Party that is really running the show. Sunak’s commitment to meet our net zero target in a “pragmatic and proportionate way” but without “unnecessarily adding costs and burdens to families” is also a nonsense.

Even his own party chairman has admitted that his current policy will not take a penny off household bills. And neither will a continued commitment to oil and gas do anything to mitigate our reliance on fossil fuel oligarchs and dictators who do not share our democratic values.

Pat Osborne North Dorset Labour

The good, the bad – and the downright ugly

The Uxbridge by-election had it all. It was good for the Conservatives, winning narrowly by focusing on the Labour mayor of London’s plans to penalise the ten per cent of most-polluting cars by charging them to drive in the area.

It was bad for Labour of course. And it was downright ugly for anyone wanting common sense to dominate in our battle to stop climate change. Both parties have started rowing back on their already inadequate plans to tackle global warming. As if Net Zero would just be nice to have, instead of an absolute necessity. Where was the grown-up conversation, for example, about the economic benefits of a fair transition to a cleaner world? Or the costly –massive – damage to lives and health from fossil fuel-driven air pollution?

Aside from clean air, there are two other absolutely essential requirements for survival: clean water and healthy food. And at the moment we’re doing our damnedest to deprive ourselves of those too.

Water has hit the headlines recently, with decades of failed privatisation having seen waterway sewage pollution increase. Water companies have been loaded with billions of pounds of debt, while billions of pounds have been paid out in dividends to shareholders – most of them based overseas. As for food, we urgently need to reform what we eat, how it is produced, and where it is grown. Targeted support for farmers is key. More than a quarter of all the food we grow is never eaten. That’s 13 million tonnes wasted. Industrialised farming is a major cause of damage to our soils, and the pollution of our waterways with pesticides, fertilisers etc. Agriculture uses 71 per cent of land in England, with 85 per cent of that used for feeding and rearing livestock – growing plants for human consumption generates around 12 times more calories per hectare than using the land for meat production. We presently import 46 per cent of the fresh vegetables we eat, and 84 per cent of the fruit. Poor diet causes diabetes, cardiac disease and other obesity-related conditions. It is blighting the lives of millions, predominantly our poorer citizens, and is costing the NHS billions. Unsustainable. The Government knows all this, but isn’t taking the action needed. Time for change.

Ken Huggins North Dorset Green Party