Labour’s campaign to win back parts of the red wall in May faltered this week, as their Teesside metro mayoral candidate told her trade union buddies that the Covid crisis will pale in comparison to that of the climate crisis… On Tuesday’s Covid Day of Reflection.

While the rest of the country spent the day reflecting on the year that had gone by since Boris announced lockdown the previous March 23rd, Labour’s Jessie Joe Jacobs told the Unite Union:

“There is no other issue bigger than [the environment]. If we think the Covid crisis hurt, the climate crisis is going to hurt much much deeper, much much wider.

Jacobs also revealed that if she wins the Tees Valley election, her first act will be to “call a climate emergency for the Tees Valley”. An interesting virtue signalling move given much the area’s industry is only just getting back on its feet…

Middlesbrough MP Simon Clarke responded to Jacobs’ alarmist comments by saying “These crass remarks would have been deeply insensitive at any time, but to issue them on the national day of reflection for Covid-19 shows a total lack of judgement.”

Ironically, if eco-Jessie were mayor of the Tees Valley, she’d have majorly scuppered the UK’s current climate fight: earlier this month GE Renewable Energy announced it will build the UK’s first factory to manufacture blades for offshore wind turbines – a move only taken thanks to Teesside becoming a freeport. Who took to Twitter the day of the freeport announcement to describe the plan as “basically a tax avoidance port”? None other than climate alarmist Jessie Joe Jacobs…