<
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/conspiracy-influencers-climate-europe-uk-elections-1235051563/>
"On a cold morning in late February, farmer Gareth Wyn Jones was standing with
a few dozen other protesters outside the annual conference for the Conservative
Party in Wales. Inside the venue, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was giving
a speech to the Welsh branch of the Conservatives. Wyn Jones and other farmers
were here to voice anger at policies by the Labour Party and to demand Sunak’s
support. With their tractors parked in a row behind them, many of the
protesters held up signs that read “No Farmers No Food”.
According to Wyn Jones, Conservative Member of Parliament Virginia Crosbie
approached and asked, “Would you like to meet Rishi?” Wyn Jones happily agreed.
Along came Sunak in his signature slim-fit suit, looking even more like a
finance bro than usual next to Wyn Jones, wearing his flat-cap and thick beige
jacket. The Prime Minister gave a short speech to the assembled crowd
criticizing Labour’s agricultural policies and then listened to Wyn Jones’
concerns.
Wyn Jones complained about environmental policies including a proposal that 10
percent of farmland must be given over to trees and 10 percent given over to
quality wildlife habitat, and also lamented a ban on badger culling.
Perhaps keen to avoid the kind of mass farmer protests underway elsewhere in
Europe, Sunak had recently been making overtures to the UK’s farming industry.
This year, farmers blockaded Brussels, Berlin, and Paris, among other cities,
with a set of broad demands around their struggling business model, as well as
to protest environmental requirements introduced as part of the EU’s push
towards a green transition.
After their conversation, Sunak posed for photos with a ruddy, grinning Wyn
Jones.
But in posing for photos, Sunak had endorsed a group that pushes conspiracy
theories. The “No Farmers No Food” campaign that Wyn Jones is part of has
shared false information about climate action and is vehemently anti-net zero.
An online organizing document claimed that “Unelected globalists” were “killing
farmers” and would force the population to “eat bugs.” No Farmers No Food was
founded by a PR consultant called James Melville. Scottish, with
salt-and-pepper hair and clever eyes, Melville is a frequent commentator on the
Fox News-style TV channel
GBNews, and has shared fake news that governments
are planning to force people into “climate lockdowns.”"
Unfortunately the same tactics are being used with farmers here in Australia
also.
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: July 4, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-107445124
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
