UK Government warns against making the fight against climate change a ‘religious crusade’

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s Home Secretary Michael Gove warned on Sunday against making the fight against climate change “a religious crusade”, days after the Conservatives in government narrowly won local elections by opposing charges for the most polluting vehicles.

Gove, who is expected to propose reforms to stimulate house building on Monday, said he supported measures to encourage people to walk and cycle more, but that some car travel was vital and low-traffic neighborhoods a “crude” tool.

“I think, how can I put this, that it is reckless,” he told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, referring to some measures used to limit air pollution, including the opposition Labor Party’s move to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ).

“One of the dangers, I don’t think Labor is aware of this at all, is that if people think you’re treating the environmental cause as a religious crusade, where you’re dividing the world into good guys and bad guys, then you alienate the support you need for thoughtful environmentalism.”

The Conservatives unexpectedly cattle a by-election at the former Uxbridge and South Ruislip headquarters of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leading Labor leader Keir Starmer say that there was “something very wrong” if the party’s policies ended up in all the pamphlets put out by the ruling party.

The ULEZ expansion is planned for next month by the capital’s Labor mayor, Sadiq Khan. Khan is expected to remain committed to implementing ULEZ, but he may seek new ideas to mitigate its impact, a source close to the City Council said on condition of anonymity.

Labor won a once secure Conservative parliamentary seat in the north of England on Friday, but defeat in Uxbridge has ignited debate on ULEZ, pitting the mayor and health activists against those who say they can’t tolerate another economic hit when living costs are skyrocketing.

Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Jan Harvey and Barbara Lewis

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