The blackest budget?

Was George Monbiot right to call Osborne’s budget last week the blackest budget in living memory?

We think he was. The massive science experiment going on at our exhausts, chimneys and atmosphere will not wait politely until we have fixed our country’s financial deficit. Every budget that ignores this will be blacker than the last. Handing out the sweeties of low petrol and air-travel taxes is tantamount to lying to the electorate about the reality and urgency of climate change. But even more disappointing was the response of the labour leader. As former Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband knows that Chelsea Tractors should not be treated as a protected species. He knows that fuel prices must rise steadily while low carbon alternatives become more affordable as this country moves towards a zero carbon future, not only to kick-start our low carbon economy but as a moral necessity. On Thursday Mr. Miliband did not have the backbone to say a word in defence of the future. Our political leaders are refusing to be the leaders the world needs. It is time for the church to step up and lead an exodus from carbon.

Read George Monbiot's Blog here >