‘Tone-deaf’ Tice mocked again over juvenile climate change jibe

In one of those posts that demands a second reading, if only to check that a senior politician really did write it, the Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice offered this reminder:

“A reminder that only Reform will scrap Net Stupid Zero.”

Bemused readers hit back, accusing Tice of substituting childish name-calling for serious debate about one of the most consequential policy challenges facing the country.

“An excellent reminder to vote for ANYBODY ELSE,” one user replied.

Another warned of the potential consequences for workers and businesses: “And in the stroke of a pen hundreds of thousands of people employed directly or indirectly in the industry are placed on benefits!! Great work Richard!”

A third wrote: “A reminder that ‘Net Stupid Zero’ has to be one of the weakest stupid nicknames in political use at present.”

The ridicule points to a wider problem for Reform. Scrapping net zero may be a central plank of the party’s platform, but reducing a complex debate about energy security, industrial investment and climate risk to a schoolyard insult does little to demonstrate how the party would address the challenges Britain faces.

Reform UK is, indeed, the only major party explicitly committed to scrapping the UK’s legally binding target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The party has pledged to repeal the target and interim carbon budgets, arguing that the transition is unaffordable and threatens British industry.

Its proposed alternatives include removing green levies and renewable energy subsidies from energy bills, with the party claiming this could save households between £200 and £500 a year. Reform also advocates accelerating North Sea oil and gas licensing, exploring shale gas through fracking, pursuing coal exploration and expanding nuclear power.

Environmental campaigners have long argued Reform’s position reflects the influence of fossil fuel interests and a broader resistance to climate action. Greenpeace, pointing to the party’s financial backers and its support for expanded fossil fuel production, has argued that its hostility towards climate and nature policies should come as little surprise.

The organisation has also criticised arguments contained in an earlier draft of Reform’s Contract with You, describing them as a collection of “bogus arguments lifted straight from the climate denial playbook.”

Those arguments included the claims that human activity cannot stop climate change because the climate has always changed, that Britain should adapt to warming rather than attempt to limit it, and that the UK produces too little carbon dioxide to make meaningful action worthwhile when compared with China and India.

The draft also cited the fact that carbon dioxide is essential for plant growth, historical periods when Britain was warmer than it is today and claims about the relative number of deaths caused by cold and heat.

This is not the first time Richard Tice has attracted criticism for his comments on global warming.

During the summer’s record-breaking heatwave, he was widely mocked for arguing people should “celebrate” the changing climate and repeating the claim that ten times more people die from cold than from heat.

The remarks drew condemnation from medical groups, environmental campaigners and political opponents, who argued that they downplayed the dangers posed by extreme heat at a time when wildfires, drought and pressure on water supplies were raising serious concerns.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s party chair, said: “Richard Tice’s comments are tone-deaf. With wildfires raging across the UK and drought threatening water supplies and food security, comments like these don’t just raise serious questions about his judgment – they also expose where his interests really lie.”

Tice may believe that “Net Stupid Zero” is a memorable political slogan. But the reaction suggests that many people see it instead as a cheap shot that avoids the substance of the argument.