Guy Shrubsole
@guyshrubsole.bsky.social
Environmental campaigner & author, The Lie of the Land (William Collins, 2024), The Lost Rainforests of Britain (2022), & Who Owns England? (2019). Forthcoming: The Ghosts of Chalk Country (2027). Agent: @jmlockhart.bsky.social
For GOD'S SAKE. Massive landowners call for ban on disposable BBQs, but at the same time call for "a lifting of the ban on controlled burning" 'You oiks shouldn't burn moorland - that's OUR job' Entitled double standards. Ban both. @georgemonbiot.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
Calls to ban disposable barbecues in England and Wales over wildfire risk
Lib Dems and many Labour MPs join farmers, landowners and firefighters in urging temporary prohibition
theguardian.com
Today I've written for @labourlist.bsky.social on why working class communities deserve to see a bold plan from Labour on climate. Quite simply we all deserve to be safe and be protected. And there's quite a clear political case for the government too. labourlist.org/2026/08/work...
'Working class communities deserve a bold climate plan from Labour' - LabourList
Labour has always proudly protected, championed and supported working class communities and should do so once more when it comes to climate.
labourlist.org
My editor asked me to write about what happened to summer:
We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate warzone | Rebecca Solnit
Summer is not what it once was. We have been robbed of one of life’s great joys
theguardian.com
Why is Britain a tinderbox? Because: 1) The climate crisis, obvs; but also - 2) *6.4 million hectares* of farmland in England & Wales is riddled with field drains - draining water from the land where it could be retaining it. Make Britain Wet Again! ahdb.org.uk/drainage
Excellent to see strong support for opening up the Land Registry and information on who owns land in this analysis of responses to the Government's land use consultation. lunzhub.com/wp/wp-conten...
‼️Breaking: Almost three-quarters of English riverbanks have no right of access. Our new investigation has found that 71% of riverbanks in England have no right of access on either bank. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
4. The Daily Mail Double-page spread: “Evacuate! ‘Out of control wildfire…fears for Sizewell” Lead comment slot: “Why the flames…have been fanned by the Green agenda”
3. The Daily Telegraph Frontpage story: "Wildfires close in on Sizewell [nuclear plant]" Also in the paper: "As wildfires rage, Britain isn't ready…" Meanwhile: "Rewilding blamed for…wildfire" "Net-zero…'raises risk of wildfires'" "emptying countryside…vulnerable to blazes"
2. The Times Frontpage: “Wildfire in Suffolk near nuclear plant” Comment article: “Wildfires suggest rewilding needs a rethink”
🧵Right-leaning newspapers are trying to blame Europe's raging wildfires on everything EXCEPT fossil fuels 1. The Wall Street Journal Frontpage story: "Greece fights wildfires as Europe crisis spreads" WSJ editorial: "How green policies fuel fires in Europe"
Shooting interests & the rightwing press want to exploit the wildfires to reinstate moorland burning. But you don't fight fire with fire. You fight it with water. This wildfire in Wales' Elan Valley in May stopped abruptly when it reached re-wetted peat bogs: www.walesfarmer.co.uk/news/2614875...
Rewilding is the best defence against wildfires (and why the Telegraph is unsurprisingly wrong): spectator.com/article/rewi...
Rewilding is the best defence against wildfires
Rewilding is not the cause of Britain's worsening upland wildfires. Increasingly, it looks like one of the most promising solutions.
spectator.com
"These heatwaves are grimly exposing the UK's lack of resilience" greenallianceblog.org.uk/2026/08/03/t...
These heatwaves are grimly exposing the UK’s lack of resilience
The UK was wracked by record rainfall and flooding earlier in the year, hard to remember now in the midst of successive deadly heatwaves and mounting threats to food production due to drought. We…
greenallianceblog.org.uk
A few weeks ago, the world crossed a major solar milestone: 3 terawatt installed. Why did no one notice? 0.1 TW to 1 TW: 120 months 1 TW to 2 TW: 29 months 2 TW to 3 TW: 19 months Gift link to the story 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed
The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.
bloomberg.com
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
The dry conditions meant there wasn't a huge amount in flower #bythesea at Dawlish Warren today, but there was lots of common restharrow and lovely to find the tiny flowers of what I think is lesser centaury #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
For tonight’s #WildflowerHour, here’s a picture not of a flower in bloom, but of a meadow in the making. @louisacasson.bsky.social & I today gathered green hay and wildflower seed - knapweed, yellow rattle - from Kevin & Donna Cox’s amazing meadows, and spread it on our own somewhat smaller lawn. 🤞🌼
Most lowland woods in England are criss-crossed with drainage ditches, dug to help intensive forestry exploitation. Most woods no longer managed, but drainage still maintained for convenience of dogwalkers etc., losing ponds, bogs. Re-wetting woodland to buffer against droughts should be a priority.
Guy Shrubsole@guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 3d agoAustralia has a completely different set of ecosystems to the UK. In Britain, you don’t fight fire with fire: you fight it with water. We have allowed landowners to comprehensively drain our peat bogs, remove farmland ponds, riddle landscapes with field drains. Make Britain Wet Again!
Australia has a completely different set of ecosystems to the UK. In Britain, you don’t fight fire with fire: you fight it with water. We have allowed landowners to comprehensively drain our peat bogs, remove farmland ponds, riddle landscapes with field drains. Make Britain Wet Again!
New: A business that made a six-figure donation to Reform UK received interest-free loans of £67m from unnamed “related companies” in the months before, raising questions about the possible origin of the funds. observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Reform given six-figure donation by firm that received £6...
Nigel Farage’s party is facing questions about the lack of transparency over £100,000 in funds donated by a management consultancy
observer.co.uk
The big question after Manchester is what happens next given Reform appears to be fading. The Conservatives seem in no position to dominate on the right, while Restore have exceeded some expectations there is likely a ceiling to their support. Will Burnham and Labour be the main beneficiaries?
Farage extends his losing streak; eyes prize of becoming biggest loser ever in upcoming contest with bin bsky.app/profile/elec...
Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk · 5d agoGreater Manchester Mayoral By-Election Result: 🌹 Craig | LAB: 47.2% ➡️ Astley | RFM: 21.0% 🌍 Coggins | GRN: 12.2% ◼️ West | RES: 8.7% 🌳 Eckersley | CON: 7.7% 🔶 Kilpatrick | LDM: 2.2% 🙋 Farmer | Ind: 0.6% 2nd Round: 🌹 Craig | LAB: 66.3% ➡️ Astley | RFM: 33.7% Labour HOLD.
MCR mayoral by-election result. Craig (Lab) 66.3% Astley (Ref) 33.7% Follow live on @news.sky.com
NEW: Bev Craig wins the Greater Manchester Mayoralty. Reform second.
Which political party is currently doing the most to set the political agenda? Labour: 33% (+19 from 28-29 Aug 2025) Reform UK: 16% (-28) Conservative: 7% (+4) Greens: 4% (+3) Lib Dems: 1% (=) yougov.com/en-gb/daily-...
Well, the government has a seven page memo on devolution and England and... there is a lot in there! Will add some thoughts, but the most striking thing is the pace. A lot of the serious reforms are due to come in April 2028 - this is not a gradual roadmap! www.gov.uk/government/p...
Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement
This publication sets out this government's plan to fundamentally rewire the state by shifting power, funding and accountability from Whitehall to local leaders
gov.uk
The problem with making this case (which Badenoch didn't make anyway) is that the whole point of the Climate Change Act is to give different political parties the freedom to reach the target by whatever means they see fit. All the plan has to do is be credible...
James Murray@james-bg.bsky.social · 5d agoYou can make the case net zero targets are too prescriptive and a more flexible approach is needed, but you need a plan that is a lot better than what Badenoch implies to still actually get to net zero by around 2050 or else you risk runaway climate disasters.
