A Guardian analysis has revealed that at least 30 Reform UK candidates have posted material or made statements that cast doubt on the validity of human-induced global heating.
Available reports show that a suite of the party’s prospective parliamentary candidates have publicly cast doubt on the existence of the emission-caused climate crisis. Their social media posts often claim that warnings of anthropogenic warming are a “hoax” or “scam”, and many include conspiracy theories about how the “climate change narrative” can be attributed to the World Economic Forum, “globalist elites” or “the Illuminati”.
Analysis of Reform candidates’ social media profiles has also shown that more than two dozen have shared material that denies human-induced warming, over he last two years. Some of the candidates sharing these messages are projected to win in their constituencies.
Similar views have been expressed and promoted at official Reform events. Party representatives have been criticised for climate science denialism throughout the election campaign; the party’s chair, Richard Tice, claimed in early June that it was “ludicrous” to suggest that the UK’s decarbonisation would reduce global heating.
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The party’s only MP, Lee Anderson, claimed this year that coal was a “sustainable” energy source and said only “odd weirdos” care about decarbonisation. Reform’s election “contract” – which it released instead of a manifesto – pledges to get rid of the country’s net-zero commitments if the party wins the election.
However, the social media activity of many of the party’s candidates’ suggests they go beyond scepticism about the effectiveness of net zero and into overt denial about human-caused climate disruption. They includes three of the five candidates who were projected to win their seats by a YouGov poll published on 19 June.
The official Reform UK Basildon & Billericay Facebook account promoting the campaign of Stephen Conlay, tipped to beat Conservative chair, Richard Holden, reposted one message denying that human carbon dioxide emissions affect the climate and another which claimed that global heating would be beneficial.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
