Isle of Wight Green Party’s parliamentary candidate, Vix Lowthion shares this letter below that was sent to Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Robert Seely. OnTheWight have invited the MP to share his reply. Ed
I’m disappointed to read and see that you failed to turn up to speak at the first debate on Climate Change in the House of Commons for over two years (see Hansard, 28.2.2019)
The failure of the UK government to make satisfactory progress on achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2020 will be our dreadful legacy as we leave our future generations to tackle this critical issue.
Your silence is deafening
This week alone we have felt the warmth in the sunshine as we’ve witnessed the highest winter temperatures since records began. Wildfires have raged across the UK in East Sussex, Edinburgh and Wales. Australia has broken all records with their hottest summer, ever.
The earth is literally burning – and your silence is deafening.
As our MP you have made claims to protect our environment, and yet your government continues to impose fracking and oil drilling in rural areas such as the Isle of Wight, and give record fossil fuel subsidies of £3 billion to oil and coal-fired power stations last year.
Your constituents are concerned
Protecting the future of the planet and dealing with the challenges of climate change are incredibly important to Islanders.
Only last month, thousands of UK young people took to the streets in the Youth Strike for Climate, and hundreds of children wrote to you on the Isle of Wight to ask you to take urgent action on a government level to tackle the Climate Emergency.
Join others this Saturday
This Saturday, your constituents will be meeting in Newport as part of the global phenomenon of Extinction Rebellion, to highlight the damage that humans are causing to habitats, biodiversity and carbon emissions.
You are more than welcome to gather with us, and urge the IW Council to join councils from across the country and declare a Climate Emergency.
More than soundbites
Putting the environment first is about more than soundbites, photo ops and video blogs.
We need you and your government to put forward legislation, to protect our planet, and to vote for vital and urgent action to limit the impact of climate change.
Image: © Chris Jones and Lucy Boynton
