Glen has it wrong on Climate Change

He's not taking Climate Poverty into account?

Councillor Glen Sanderson, Conservative Leader and portfolio holder for climate change on Northumberland County Council is holding a revision of the Councils 'Climate Change Action Plan' for the next three years. The public harvesting of information is being heard at a prestigious event in Alnwick Gardens on Thursday, March 30, between 5.45pm and 7.30pm.

Being the Leader of the UK's most secretive Council were very surprised with Councillor Sanderson's latest press release on this matter for several reasons, his communications on the matter begin with 'The council is keen to hear public views on climate-related issues in the county in order to develop plans in place to become carbon neutral by 2030'.

Its followed by "Climate change is one of the greatest threats of our time. We know the importance of acting on climate change in our county and have already made good progress to help mitigate its effects".

“But we cannot do this alone and need everyone to do their bit, however small. This event is an opportunity for us to go out and speak to our local communities and find out about their challenges on the ground and explore ways we can work together to overcome these". 

“I hope to see as many faces there as possible and seeing what solutions we can come up with together.”

To attend this event you must register via the 'secret councils' website, we can only presume that may be to vet attendees beforehand.

We codgers discussing this on our park bench ( today in Bedlington ) 'do not believe that a plan can be formed against or accommodate the world's biggest problem into a local mitigation report lasting three years before revision can be resolved in one and a quarter hours in one of Britain's most prestigious settings'. 

As a rich farmer and top bod for the Tory led Local Government Association as well as a well paid Leader of a huge Council Councillor Sanderson appears to, (unlike most other Council Leaders nationally) accepting of the results of the 2021 census which as a snapshot tells us society is getting wealthier. 

He seems to have missed what's happening all around him since and that not only climate change but climate poverty needs to be urgently taken into compliance by his officers dealing with this matter.

Let's take a look at a single snapshot just like the 2021 census to illustrate why he needs to change his ideas? 

Northumberland is huge. To attend this event if you live in say Haltwhistle towards the western section of Northumberland will be a 132 ml round trip, with all its attendant costs. If you wish to travel as green as you can, from say Prudhoe to Councillor Sandersons chosen hideaway at his peak time travel consultation by train, will cost £108 single Prudhoe to Alnmouth and £9 taxi over to the venue, and of course you may wish to travel home again. 

Travel from Northumberlands largest and poorest Town with the highest rate of transport deprivation in the County, Blyth, takes a minimum of two buses and a £9 single fare. With these enormous time stealing and unfriendly pocket stripping costs for those already bound into climate poverty through national conservative policy debacles his consultation will only include those who can afford an evening out in Alnwick.

He obviously hasn't noticed Grocery prices have risen by a record 17.1% year-on-year, or that  in the four weeks to February 19, prices increased at the highest rate since records began in 2008. The increase means consumers’ annual bills will be £811 higher, on average. Or that  non-food inflation rose to a record 5.3% in February. Overall inflation in shop prices rose to 8.4% in February, up from 8% in January this is a snapshot of climate poverty in the uk today that's been completely been overlooked by Councillor Sanderson and his decision to hold a beanie for the upper middle classes and whatever Tory Councillors he can whip to attend to lower the tone, to form an ante ordinary folk policy to dominate people until 2026 in the full knowledge that his party have cured many of the nations Co2 emission problems by making heating your home completely unaffordable for millions.

His administration's fear of really talking to its voters needs to be ditched on such a needy problem and he needs to move back the date of his plan by six months taking this whole consultation through two cycles of the Councils local area committee process and hold a conference with the parish councils across the County, to ensure full debate and idea sharing is undertaken with a much wider audience than he's currently planning.

Go for it Glen and open up your council to public scrutiny and show you can be bothered to work in tandem with opposition politicians, something that Max Caller would love to see from you.