The first MPWW meeting with Charlie Maynard

October 12, 2024

MP Watch Witney is a new local group dedicated to honesty in politics and concern about climate change. The group held a public meeting with our new MP, Charlie Maynard, and some 30 of his constituents on Saturday 12th October.

The Witney meeting was part of a Climate Coalition drive to have every MP face a similar climate lobby in every constituency in Britain simultaneously. Oxfordshire managed five out of seven constituency events and MP Watch Witney organised the one for Witney. However, Hugo Kerr (chair of MP Watch Witney) was able to announce that the constituency had gone one better - Charlie had agreed to climate lobby meetings being quarterly events from now on. These will be held in January, April, July and October from now on.

Hugo introduced Charlie. He reminded the meeting that Witney constituency had a progressive MP for the first time in 102 years. He looked forward to working with Charlie to bring climate to the top of the agenda in the constituency and in Westminster. This was warmly applauded and then business began with a Q & A. Constituents did the Q and Charlie did the A.

Charlie told the meeting that he accepted climate science in full and that climate change was one of his top priorities. He said that Ed Miliband had got off to a good start and genuinely cares. He reminded us that it was Chris Skidmore, then a Conservative MP, who produced a definitive report (The Skidmore Review) which clearly demonstrates the absolute necessity, and commercial desirability, of climate action and remains an important guide to it.

In answer to a general question whether politics was more problem than solution, Charlie agreed that the pace of climate action was too slow, and that politics was part of the problem, perhaps especially because public opinion is not proportionately represented at Westminster, he said. The present government has a very large majority of seats but gained only about a third of the votes cast. A more consensual, PR system would enable us to progress issues which are urgent and widely agreed across the board – exactly like climate.

Questions then varied from local adaptation plans, including flood and housing planning as well as solar farming, through the economics of climate change mitigation to improving truth in politics, using an MP in a minority party to press the climate issue in parliament, and the risks in unregulated geo-engineering. The feeling of the meeting was that the voice of our new MP had been heard and that Witney constituency could also be heard in future, in Westminster, on climate change and on an ongoing basis with scheduled quarterly meetings.

This was a forceful and productive event, important to our constituency. You can get in touch via our contact page, or email direct to <mpwatchwitney@gmail.com>