Reform under water

The Independent reports that eight out of ten of the most flood-prone constituencies are projected to vote in a Reform MP at the next general election, but the party remains sceptical about the climate crisis and net zero policies.

The paper says that since its conception in 2021, Reform UK has established itself as the anti-climate change party, with its leader Nigel Farage consistently vowing to scrap net zero targets, describing wind energy as “economic insanity” and calling for renewed drilling in the North Sea oil and gas fields. But that coulc be a major problem for them:

Experts have warned that this stance could result in future problems and “tensions” for the right-wing party. While a YouGov poll found that only 28 to 33 per cent of Reform voters are concerned about climate change, a large percentage of their voters reside in areas which are set to be disproportionately affected by its impact.

Research by Global Witness has shown that eight out of 10 of England’s most flood-prone constituencies are projected to vote in a Reform MP at the next election, which has already proven true in Boston and Skegness with deputy leader Richard Tice elected as their MP in 2024.

This includes South Holland the Deepings, Goole and Pocklington, North East Cambridgeshire, Louth and Horncastle, Selby, Runnymede and Weybridge, Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Doncaster North, Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme.

According to the Environment Agency, 91 per cent of buildings within Mr Tice’s constituency are facing a flood risk, with a local council boss warning that 60,000 people are at risk unless the Lincolnshire coastal defences are improved.

A report published by the county council last year found that the sea defences were degrading at a rate that will render them ineffective by 2040, and could see tidal flooding of areas up to 15km inland.

Mr Tice has previously said that the idea of human-made climate change was “garbage”, but in November rowed back on this assertion and said humans have “possibly” impacted the climate, but only “modestly”.

Last May, a newly elected Reform UK council abolished a flooding committee in Lincolnshire, despite the country suffering some of its worst flooding in its history in Storm Babet in 2023.

Alasdair Johnstone, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), warned that Reform’s stance on green issues could eventually lead to “tensions” with their voters.

He noted that while Mr Farage was gaining momentum in the east of England, those regions have greatly profited from green industries, attracting multi-billion pound investments in offshore wind, green hydrogen, and nuclear energy such as Sizewell C.

Last September, Luke Campbell, the Reform mayor for Hull and Yorkshire, said he was “all for” cleaner air and green energy if it provided jobs, in what was widely seen as a differing stance from his party’s pledge to tax the renewables sector.

Polling conducted in March by Persuasion UK also found that 46 per cent of all Reform curious voters think it is “not yet too late to avoid the worst impacts of climate change”.

Flash flooding in Ipswich at the beginning of June also caused travel chaos, with the downpours leaving parts of Lowestoft under water.

The incident came just as the Reform UK-led Suffolk County Council declared it would scrap the previous administration's climate change emergency declaration, which vowed to achieve net zero by 2030.

Martin Cook, the Labour leader of the council, said:”Zero-carbon electricity generation is a huge part of our local economy here in Suffolk.

Reform's policies work directly against the interests of the people they are targeting for votes. Surely it is only a matter of time before this disparity catches up with them.