This summer was officially the hottest UK summer since records began. While we all look forward to summertime, the excessive heat affected everyone - with people struggling to keep cool both at home and at work.

Droughts and water shortages also have a huge impact on crop yield, making it harder for our local farmers to grow the food we rely on and make enough money doing so. So, food prices go up and contribute to rising inflation. But as well as drought, we’ve seen flash flooding, which leads to land becoming waterlogged and further damages soil and crops. Farmers with livestock, such as cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, have faced separate challenges trying to protect that livestock from the weather.

We also witnessed the tragic environmental consequences of wildfires, including the devastating fire at Holme Fen. The scale of the incident meant up to 100 firefighters from Cambridgeshire, neighbouring areas and national crews all contributed to tackling the blaze. Many spent days and even weeks away from home, working in incredibly hot, exhausting and difficult conditions to protect our communities and precious natural environment. The scale of devastation means restoring the nature reserve will take years, if not decades.

Until recently there was a consensus across the major political parties that climate change is real, it’s serious and we need to deal with it. While I’d argue that the Conservatives didn’t do enough on this issue, they did at least recognise that there’s a problem. But now, the current leader of the Conservative Party has made clear anyone who wants to represent the party in the future must reject efforts to reach net zero emissions. This kind of narrow-minded politics sends the wrong signal to local businesses and residents grappling with the effects of climate change.

placeholder image — The blaze at Holme Fen

Reform are even worse – with their deputy leader laughing off concerns, telling people that climate change is “real” but said that “if it means that English wine and sparkling wine get better and better, fantastic.”. I wonder if he’d care to come and justify that to the farmers in my constituency whose livelihoods climate change is destroying.

Despite Met Office records showing that we’ve just had the hottest summer on record, Reform’s leader on Huntingdonshire District Council flatly denied the evidence when appearing on ITV Anglia Late last week with me. In a separate social media post, he tried to suggest that solar panels are contributing to global warming by stopping the earth from sweating! These are not people that can seriously run our country.

But look at the contrast - in response to wildfires, the Labour Government announced a temporary ban on sale of disposable barbecues and put in place extra resources to manage ongoing fires. Just earlier this year, we passed new laws that commit the UK to cut emissions by 87% from baseline levels by 2042 – setting us well on course for our commitment to net zero by 2050. We are acting, and we will keep doing so – both at home and by influencing other countries around the world.