Burnham failing public over heat threats, says Green leader

Zack Polanski has accused Labour of a “dereliction of duty” in the face of this summer’s heatwaves, as he urged Andy Burnham to take further action in response to recent wildfires and droughts.

In a speech, the Green Party leader said the threat to public health and food supplies posed the “biggest threat to this country since the Second World War”.

Record temperatures in recent months showed the need for immediate measures, he said, such as publicly accessible “cool spaces” and financial support to help households heatproof their homes.

And he argued that more was needed to respond to the “new normal” of higher temperatures, including an updated strategy for tackling wildfires.

This summer has been exceptionally dry and hot, with temperatures setting numerous records and drought conditions leaving water supplies under strain and prompting warnings from farmers about the impact on food supplies.

Speaking in central London, Polanksi said higher temperatures were posing a “threat to our way of life” on multiple fronts, whilst footage of wildfires across Europe were “frankly apocalyptic”.

He called on Burnham, who entered Downing Street two weeks ago, to show greater urgency in response to high temperatures, as he criticised him for not holding an emergency government Cobra meeting on the issue.

The leader of the Green Party of England and Wales added: “The response from our government is to pretend none of this is happening.

“It’s an astonishing dereliction of duty from those whose first responsibility is to keep us safe”.