Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

The elitism lurking at the heart of the green movement

(Getty images)

There’s a movement in the UK that is trying to block the building of essential new council housing. It is also agitating to stop the opening of a new coal mine, which would deprive working men and women of a good, honest way to make a living.

What is this movement? A neo-Thatcherite organisation, perhaps, hell-bent on finishing Maggie’s task of putting coal miners out of work and shrinking social housing? A bunch of aristocrats and toffs, maybe, who are sick of their leafy living areas being swarmed by council-house residents and the precious countryside being blighted by such ghastly things as mines and factories?

Nope, it’s environmentalists. It’s greens. It’s those eco-warriors who pose as super-progressive and claim to care about people. Right now, these supposedly planet-loving agitators are calling for less council housing and fewer jobs for coal miners, and we really couldn’t have asked for a better illustration of the elitism that lurks at the heart of the green movement.

At every green demo I’ve ever observed most of the attendees have been quite plummy

Islington council in London is currently trying to build a six-storey block that would provide 25 ‘desperately needed’ council homes.

Britain’s best politics newsletters

You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in