Labour launches attack ad slamming Richard Tice’s heatwave comments
Tice has been slapped down for saying people should “enjoy” the heatwaves
Labour has released a stinging attack ad criticising Richard Tice’s stance on climate change.
The video features the Reform deputy leader’s comments encouraging people to “enjoy” the recent climate change-driven heatwaves, against the backdrop of homes that have been burnt to the ground by recent wildfires.
At a Reform press conference on Monday, Tice said “when it’s a bit warm, let’s enjoy it”.
He said that while climate change is real, the UK’s attempts to achieve net zero emissions will not stop it.
Tice also told the public to see the “upsides” of climate change and the extreme heat, stating: “If it means that English wine and sparkling wine gets better and better then fantastic, that means we can take on the French. Fantastic.”
A woman whose house had been burnt down then says: “It’s just devastating. We just can’t believe what’s happened. It’s just all those years, memories, everything just gone.”
With a blazing fire in the background, a recording of Tice’s voice can be heard saying: “Let’s celebrate some of these things rather than just be doom and gloom about it”.
The video also features footage of the prime minister Andy Burnham during a visit to Stourbridge, which was hit by a wildfire last week, saying: “I’ve never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house, guttered, smouldering.”
Burnham said he had met one of the families’ whose house had burnt down, and said: “You can imagine how distressing that is for them and you feel for them and their kids.”
Tice’s comments have been slapped down, with Friends of the Earth campaigner Danny Gross calling them “an insult” to people who have been affected by wildfires and the Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson saying they were “tone deaf”.
Gross said: “If Richard Tice wants to live in a world of make believe, that’s his call. But telling people to enjoy the heat after the scenes we’ve seen in the last week… how out of touch do you need to be?
“Homes burnt to a cinder and the military drafted in after wildfires raged uncontrollably. Farmers at their wits end because weeks without rain have made for yet another brutal harvest.
“And the more than 1,000 lives needlessly lost during this summer’s heatwaves thanks to global heating. It’s an insult – particularly to their loved ones – to suggest the weather extremes we’re seeing are cause for celebration.”
The Reform politician’s comments are also at odds with most voters’ views on the extreme heat.
According to More in Common polling, 86% of voters think the recent heatwaves were at least partially down to climate change, while 65% said they were concerned about climate change.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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