Boris Johnson was criticized by North Tory MPs last night after alleging that Margaret Thatcher’s coal mine closures had fueled Britain’s climate change ambitions.
The Prime Minister used a visit to Scotland to point out that the closure of pits in the North and Midlands in the 1980s had given Britain a head start in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
His remarks, which he admitted, would get people going, irritating environmentalists, labor unions and some of his own MPs who won seats in areas where Conservatives have only just recovered from the stigma of Thatcherism. “Look at what we’ve already done,” said Johnson during a trip to a wind farm off the northeast coast of Scotland. “We said goodbye to coal in my lifetime. Thanks to