While the country eagerly sat waiting for the heatwave to pass, what was the Government doing?
Well, our Prime Minister’s off flying a Typhoon fighter jet and the final two candidates to be the next Prime Minister are tearing chunks out of each other.
While there’s chaos in government, councils have just got on with providing support to residents. In many councils, bin collections commenced at 6am rather than 7am to reduce the workers’ exposure to the extreme weather. Each council was also able to provide the public with information regarding how to stay safe in the hot weather.
Councils have had to battle the pressing issue of a multitude of fires in areas such as Ealing and Brent. Across the country, councils brought street sleepers in from the heat. And they are now tasked with supporting families whose homes and belongings are left in ashes.
“As energy bills soar, people have had to choose between heating their homes or eating”
A crucial issue the country has faced in recent months is the rise in energy bills. As these soar, people have had to choose between heating their homes or eating.
As a country, it’s vital that we move towards more sustainable and cleaner sources of energy, and supercharge the retrofitting of homes to much higher standards of insulation.
The Government should be leading efforts to insulate millions of homes, starting with those properties occupied by low-income families, so that we reduce our emissions, but crucially also reduce people’s energy bills too. It would also support hundreds of thousands of good jobs, and help put the UK at the forefront of the green revolution.
With climate change more obvious than ever, the Government needs to step up and get serious. It must cooperate and work with councils – and, in fact, the world – to stop this pressing issue from growing out of hand.
By working together, councils and the Government can play a vital role in helping people, but this is only with the Government’s support.