Did you know that the new Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is a keen climate change denier? Dangerous, given the key importance of environmental issues in trade deals.
She's posted quite an eye-opening series of tweets over the years. Let's step through them all in order...
She's posted quite an eye-opening series of tweets over the years. Let's step through them all in order...
Ok, we're up to 2012. Let's keep going...
Now we've reached 2013. She's not run out of steam yet...
In October 2016 (despite everything we saw so far) something astonishing happened: she decided to go for the Guiness World record for biggest hypocrite.
She claimed to be looking forward to receiving climate change concerns (on "green leaves") from her constituents in Rothbury.
She claimed to be looking forward to receiving climate change concerns (on "green leaves") from her constituents in Rothbury.
By December 2016, she was back to her old ways, promoting a report that attacked the Climate Change Act.
She seems to have consciously remade her social media persona in late 2017, because the tide of global warming scepticism stopped.
Instead, she switched to posting (occasionally) about climate change issues as if she believed the problem existed.
Instead, she switched to posting (occasionally) about climate change issues as if she believed the problem existed.
Her conversion to the cause seemed to persevere in 2018...
... and she was in full perky General Election mode in late 2019.
... and she was in full perky General Election mode in late 2019.
By December 2019, she was praising the Green Party for bringing climate change into the mainstream of conversation.
(Note that she has never, at any point, expressed regret for - or even acknowledged - her own breakneck U-turn on the subject.)
(Note that she has never, at any point, expressed regret for - or even acknowledged - her own breakneck U-turn on the subject.)
Just a couple of mentions of climate in the early part of 2020, but to be fair she was dealing with the crisis the whole world was grappling with: the coronavirus pandemic.
She did manage to get onto the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, though... 😲
She did manage to get onto the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, though... 😲
On 7 November 2020, Anne-Marie Trevelyan was appointed the UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency.
Which, based on her early record, feels a bit like appointing Hannibal Lecter to a key post in the Vegan Society.
Which, based on her early record, feels a bit like appointing Hannibal Lecter to a key post in the Vegan Society.
That was it! From dripping bath tap to Niagara Falls, as her climate-related tweets suddenly came thick and fast.
Not going to document them all here, but she posted 14 tweets on the subject between 7 November 2020 and 31 December 2020, after just two for the rest of 2020.
/END
Not going to document them all here, but she posted 14 tweets on the subject between 7 November 2020 and 31 December 2020, after just two for the rest of 2020.
/END
Added: just to be crystal clear, there's no evidence of *recent* denialism.
But there's also been no apology at any point, nor any acknowledgement of her change of heart, or attempt to draw an explicit line under her previous mockery and belittlement on the subject.
But there's also been no apology at any point, nor any acknowledgement of her change of heart, or attempt to draw an explicit line under her previous mockery and belittlement on the subject.
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