A group of mums and dads called on the Chingford MP to do more to protect the environment at a small rally in Highams Park
A group of Highams Park parents have put Chingford MP Iain Duncan Smith to task on his environmental voting record.
At a small protest on 25th November, the parents highlighted the MP’s climate record, such as voting to dump sewage in rivers, lakes and seas and his support for new UK oil and gas exploration.
The group of mums and dads vocalised how Duncan Smith has “repeatedly voted against new or strengthened targets for reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions” and pushed him to do more to hold the government to account on their climate change commitments.
Local constituent and mum of one, Jessica Bridges, said she was “horrified to learn about my local MP Iain Duncan-Smith’s track record voting against climate action”.
She added: “MPs are meant to act in the best interest of their constituents, and I can’t understand how using your power in parliament to block climate progress is good for anyone, particularly our children who now don’t have safe spaces to swim and play.”
The parents met in Highams Park as part of Parents for Future, which is a network of over 25,000 supporters focused on environmental protection and climate action.
Iain Duncan Smith’s office did not respond to a request for comment on his environmental voting record.
According to the website TheyWorkForYou, which collects and aggregates the parliamentary voting records of MPs, Iain Duncan Smith has “generally voted against measures to prevent climate change“.
The Chingford and Woodford Green MP has notably taken a critical position on the UK government’s plans and attempted to achieve net zero by 2050.
In a blog posted on his site in August this year, the MP rallied against plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030 as part of that emissions-cutting bid.
In his blog he added that the “cost of net zero will be paid by every household”, while on Twitter/X he posted that “the drive to achieve the 2030 net zero deadline on petrol and diesel cars means the UK being swamped with cheap electric cars made in China using huge amounts of fossil fuels”.
In September, the government announced it was pushing its ban on petrol and diesel car sales back to 2035 as part of a wider roll-back of some of its climate commitments.
Duncan Smith has however voted for high speed rail infrastructure, and has a mixed record on voting for lower taxes on car fuel, with votes both for and against.
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