Ladt week Boris Johnson faced condemnation from the First Minister of Wales after joking about Margaret Thatcher closing coal mines.
Mark Drakeford said the Prime Minister’s comments were “crass and offensive”, with the collapse of the coal industry causing “incalculable” damage to Welsh communities.
The Prime Minister had claimed that Mrs Thatcher had given the UK an “early start” in the shift away from fossil fuels by closing pits.
Drakeford’s comments were backed by a number of other leading political figures including Nicole Sturgeon who tweeted: “Lives & communities in Scotland were utterly devastated by Thatcher’s destruction of the coal industry (which had zero to do with any concern she had for the planet).
“To treat that as something to laugh about is crass & deeply insensitive to that reality.”
Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “Boris Johnson’s shameful praising of Margaret Thatcher’s closure of the coal mines, brushing off the devastating impact on those communities with a laugh, shows just how out of touch he is with working people.”
Labour’s leader in Scotland Anas Sarwar said the remarks were “just another example of why the Tories are a disaster and the biggest threat to the union”.
The party’s energy spokeswoman at Holyrood, Monica Lennon, criticised the PM for “laughing about Thatcher’s pit closures that decimated our mining communities”.
Fellow Labour MSP Neil Bibby said: “To attempt to turn one of the most divisive and destructive periods in British history into a retrospective victory for the environment is deeply offensive to the people and communities who faced considerable hardship and misery.”
The SNP MP for Midlothian, Owen Thompson, also condemned the Prime Minister.
He said: “The Thatcher years might have been a spiffing time for Johnson, who was busy partying in the elite Bullingdon Club, but in the real world Thatcher devastated communities across Scotland.”
Scottish Greens Central Scotland MSP Gillian Mackay said: “Thatcher’s decimation of the coal industry had absolutely nothing to do with environmentalism and everything to do with her despicable anti-trade union ideology.
“Communities across Scotland were decimated by these cruel and vindictive policies which destroyed industry and left workers high and dry.
“It’s no surprise that Boris Johnson eulogises Thatcher, but we must ensure his government don’t repeat her actions as Scotland begins to transition from oil and gas to our renewables future.
“The Scottish Greens won’t allow the Tories to repeat the mistakes of the past. We will fight for a fair transition for workers that sees their jobs guaranteed in the sustainable industries of the future.”
So you get the point, his comments, joking or not, have offended a lot of people, especially in Red Wall seats, that the Party has been targeting, to some success.
Ignoring the backlash the Mail’s, and Micheal Gove’s ex, Sarah Vine decided to write a piece for the Mail on Sunday, supporting the PM’s comment. The fact is might have been a crass joke seems to have been ignored and they have ploughed on trying to back Johnson’s claim.
The headline reads “Coal mines row shows the Left needs a lesson in 1970s history because Margaret Thatcher was well ahead of her time on climate change awareness.
As ever there were some bemused comments on social media to the artilcle.
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