There is precedent for this. After all, only last week it was made plain that bitterness about the 1980s industrial disputes had not yet entirely subsided.
Net Zero will be a more profound shock. And the battle lines may take longer to emerge, but won't favour the government.
By the '80s, the public had had enough of industrial disputes, and that worked in the government's favour.
But Net Zero is an attack on the public, not on special interests or trade unions that had overestimated their power.
The political establishment has identified itself as the enemy of the public. There is going to be a reply.
I wonder if the 'red wall' tory MPs had ever heard of Zac Goldsmith or John Gummer.
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Again, @SMC_London tries to whitewash fearmongering, and also ignores the smearmongering from the fearmongers in place of robust, transparent scientific debate and democratic policymaking.
"OMG, WE NEED TO SPEND £1.4 TRILLION TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE!"
"That's a lot of money & seems to be a low estimate, has not been produced by independent analysis, lacks democratic legitimacy & it may do more harm than climate change."
More discussion about Betts' political ideas here.
Needless to say, Betts doesn't believe that institutional science (or himself) should be answerable to the public, despite its *obvious* errors, ideological biases and political advocacy.
You see images of a wildfire from a far-off place you have never been to, that you have no connection with, and have no understanding of its politics, culture or economics... What does the wildfire signify to you:
A. Gaia's revenge
or
B. A failure to properly manage land
?
Now try the other way around. Your house burns down. Do you blame:
A. a fossil fuel company for selling you petrol/diesel, or providing your electricity
or
B. the local authorities, which failed to manage the risks of spontaneous combustion or arson spreading to properties
?
It is interesting that other people's tragedies become the objects of a story that we would not accept from our own politicians.
You lost your job? Not my problem - climate change did it.
Infrastructure failure destroyed your home? Not my problem - climate change did it.