According to media reports, UK environment minister Lord Zac Goldsmith has resigned, citing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s lack of interest in addressing climate change. Lord Goldsmith expressed his disappointment with an “uninterested” Sunak and the government’s indifference towards environmental issues, leading him to find it untenable to continue serving as the environment minister.
In his resignation letter, Lord Goldsmith strongly criticized the government’s abandonment of environmental commitments and its withdrawal from global leadership. He highlighted the abandonment of the flagship animal welfare bill and the failure to fulfill a pledge to allocate £11.6 billion ($14.7bn) of UK aid to climate and environmental initiatives.
This resignation follows accusations that Lord Goldsmith undermined a parliamentary investigation into former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s actions in the Partygate scandal. Lord Goldsmith was identified as one of ten Conservative Party members involved in efforts to interfere with the probe.
In the resignation letter, Lord Goldsmith wrote, “The problem is not that the government is hostile to the environment, it is that you, our prime minister, are simply uninterested.” He added that this lack of interest had caused a kind of paralysis throughout Whitehall.
The resignation came after the Climate Change Committee, a government climate watchdog, warned that the UK had lost its leadership position on climate issues. Both the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties had called for Lord Goldsmith’s resignation following the publication of the Privileges Committee report.
A verbal dispute unfolded between Lord Zac Goldsmith and Rishi Sunak, with Sunak claiming that Lord Goldsmith refused to apologize for criticizing a Commons investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Sunak stated that Lord Goldsmith had been “a vocal advocate of some of the most important issues that the UK and the world face today” and assured that the UK continues to play a role in tackling climate change.
Lord Goldsmith responded strongly to Sunak’s allegations, asserting that the prime minister’s claim was incorrect. He expressed his willingness to apologize for publicly sharing his views on the Privileges Committee and acknowledged that as a minister, he shouldn’t have commented publicly. Lord Goldsmith stated that his decision to step down had been a long time coming.
As a long-standing ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Lord Goldsmith’s criticism of Rishi Sunak carries weight and may have caused significant damage. The Privileges Committee report highlighted “unprecedented and coordinated pressure” placed on its members during the investigation into whether Boris Johnson misled the parliament. Lord Goldsmith’s tweet expressing support for those who considered the investigation a “witch hunt” and a “kangaroo court” was cited as evidence, with other Tories claiming that the committee was attempting to stifle freedom of speech.
Post Your Comments