Pauline von HellermannJul 23, 2023

#ClimateDiary , #UKPoliitics

The #Uxbridge #Byelection has shown the Tories how well Climate Culiture War tactics can work: spreading #Misinformation about #ULEZ, branding #Labour “the political wing of Just Stop Oil”.

I expect the Tories will go for this full-on in the next elections, & the earlier we recognise & mobilise against this the better. Even if they lose these narratives are incredibly harmful #GTTO #ULEZ

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jul/22/as-labour-loses-uxbridge-over-ulez-what-now-for-the-partys-green-policies?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As Labour loses Uxbridge over Ulez, what now for the party’s green policies?

Insiders allege the Tories fought a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign to secure the west London seat, and some fear Starmer will pull back on climate crisis measures to win the culture war

The Guardian
Show threadbillheywood
@pvonhellermannn
Labour need to get their messaging sorted:
ULEZ was a Boris Johnson idea
ULEZ expansion was ordered by Grant Shapps
Jul 23, 2023 at 7:15amWeb
Show threadPetrichor ᚄᚔᚅᚐᚁᚆᚃᚒᚔᚂJul 23, 2023
@billheywood @pvonhellermannn The English are doomed. They want to keep driving around in their cars, despite the fact that cars cause 4 million child asthma cases per year worldwide
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/10/vehicle-pollution-results-in-4m-child-asthma-cases-a-year
Vehicle pollution 'results in 4m child asthma cases a year'

Equivalent of 11,000 new cases a day occur worldwide due to toxic air from traffic, researchers say

The Guardian
Show threadbillheywoodJul 23, 2023

@sinabhfuil @pvonhellermannn
The UK is making good progress on moving to EVs and our ban on fossil burners is 5 years ahead of the EU

We also aren’t at the mercy of the German car lobby and their idiotic e-fuels obfuscation

Of course we must do more, but if we are doomed, there seem to be a lot more heading there faster than us

Show threadNeil Hopkins (He/Him)Jul 23, 2023

@billheywood @pvonhellermannn it feels like a failure of strategy and, perhaps, sticking too rigidly to a narrative.

Same with Brexit and that f'ing bus. At the time, I wished someone would hire another bus to follow the Brexit Bus around, adorned in "The bus In front is lying" advertising.
No one did...

And I think that is a general failure of us on the political left. We believe that others will see through obfuscation and general sh*t, and the leftish political parties never go out with forcefully corrective work....

Show threadCiarán FerrieJul 23, 2023
@billheywood @pvonhellermannn I see two problems with that:
1. It reinforces the idea that ULEZ, and climate action in general, is a bad thing
2. They would basically be saying "The Tories made us do it", which makes them look very weak indeed.
Show threadbillheywoodJul 23, 2023
@ccferrie @pvonhellermannn
It’s not a policy position, it’s a targeted response to Tory attacks
Show threadChris Gerhard Jul 23, 2023
@billheywood @pvonhellermannn and ULEZ is a good thing that impacts a tiny minority of vehicles.