Boris Johnson has been ‘sucked into the conformist political view’ on climate change

Spiked Online Editor Brendan O'Neill says it looks like UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "let the power go to his head" and has been "sucked into the conformist political view", namely on extreme-green climate policy. "Boris used to be quite critical of the excesses of environmentalism and the craziness of some climate change activists and the nonsense of the idea the world is coming to an end," he said. "He made some really pertinent criticisms of that kind of miserablist eco-outlook that we've seen growing over the past three decades. "And now that he's in power, he seems to have become this extreme-green and he wants to get to zero carbon and he wants to lecture Australia about winding down its industry." A press release from 10 Downing Street stated Mr Johnson stressed "bold action" was needed to address climate change and the UK's experience demonstrated driving economic growth and reducing emissions could go "hand-in-hand". However, a statement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison noted Mr Johnson "welcomed" Australia's emissions reduction initiatives and "strongly endorsed" the Australian approach. Read More Our Apps