Polly has written to the Reform Leader of Kent County Council to express her concern about Reform in Kent’s continued endorsement of anti-science organisations and conspiracy theories. A copy of the letter can be read by clicking here.
Her letter follows a motion tabled by two Reform UK county councillors that claims that man-made climate change is not a settled science, citing several well-known conspiracy theorists that they allege are being censored by “the Western World” so the “United Nations” and the “World Health Authority” can “increase state control” through a meat ban or “15-minute cities”.
The motion contains a large number of unevidenced, false, or misleading claims about climate science, carbon dioxide, and even polar bears. In reality, at least 97% of climate scientists agree that man-made climate change is real, and none of the policies the councillors claim pose a threat are being proposed in the UK or any other country.
In the letter, Polly said:
“I am deeply concerned about some of the sources of information being promoted to members of the public by your councillors in this motion, most of which are not rigorous scientific institutions and many of which have obvious connections to vested interests – especially the fossil fuel industry. I would also note Reform UK’s well-documented funding by fossil fuel interests…
“We all believe in free speech, but I am deeply concerned by Reform UK’s continued efforts to undermine rigorous science while promoting unevidenced claims and conspiracy theorists.”
The councillor’s motion follows other recent examples of Reform UK promoting fringe online influencers and conspiracy theorists, including party leader Nigel Farage calling self-confessed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate an “important voice for men”, even after he had been charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania.
Reform UK also chose to invite a prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist to give a keynote speech at their conference, who claimed vaccines “created havoc” in the human body and said they were a “significant factor in the cancer of members of the royal family”.
After being offered an opportunity to disavow the false claims about vaccines, the Reform UK Leader of Kent County Council instead called them a question of “free speech,” before agreeing that there might be a link between Covid vaccines and cancer in the Royal Family, and claiming without evidence that “healthy young women suddenly getting breast cancer” could be caused by vaccination. She also said the government pressured parents into vaccinating their children and asserted that the Covid vaccine was “never meant for children”, despite the fact that the NHS continues to recommend it for immunocompromised children.
Polly also said:
“We all believe in free speech, but being an elected representative comes with a responsibility to think carefully about the words we use and the ideas we promote. It’s deeply disturbing that Reform UK in Kent continue to spread dangerous lies and conspiracy theories that undermine science, public safety, and our health.
“The truth is that 97% of climate scientists agree that humanity’s burning of fossil fuels is what is causing the rapid change in our climate that we see all around us. Instead of stirring up online culture wars, Reform UK in Kent need to get a grip of our county council and start delivering actual results for the people of East Thanet.”