Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband are in Turkey this week at COP31 – the international climate change conference – talking more hot air about stopping climate change. The reality that our left-leaning politicians must accept is that climate change is already here and there is nothing we can do about it – certainly not impoverishing Britain at a critical time in our cost-of-living crisis.

Cutting Electric Vehicle (EV) targets is just one practical step towards reversing green economic damage. This week, Louise Haigh, de facto deputy prime minister, has finalised a plan to cut the target for EV sales by a quarter so that the British car industry doesn’t face crippling fines for missing the 2035 target of 100% EVs.

Some Labour backbenchers fear this represents backsliding on their green agenda and yet it is Labour MPs in Red Wall seats who are quite rightly pushing for a more realistic approach to net zero that doesn’t tank the economy – and doesn’t cost thousands of blue-collar jobs. Their growing objections are solidifying around the government’s newly-introduced Energy Independence Bill that would outlaw any new exploration of the North Sea.

Dissenting backbenchers say it is perverse and hypocritical to import vast amounts of gas and oil from abroad – making the US and Norway rich – while choking off our energy resources in our own backyard. The Jackdaw gas field has been opened, but the bigger Rosebank oil field is hanging in the balance as eco-warrior MPs argue their case.

“We think that energy security is national security,” says Henry Tufnell, Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire. “We think it can bring huge benefits for economic growth and ultimately protect lots of jobs.”

David Bucknall, CEO of INEOS Energy, has also waded in, saying, “the pipelines, platforms, ports, and skilled workforce needed for energy production are already in place. We could use these resources to meet the needs of UK consumers more quickly, cheaply, and securely than bringing energy in from elsewhere”. The practical sense of this is clear but Tufnel and like-minded Labour MPs are up against the monolithic green machine that has captured the minds of so many politicians in recent decades.

King Canute failing to stop the tide coming in is an age-old metaphor for human vanity in the face of nature. It most especially applies to the politicians at COP31 this week who think they can take actions to halt climate change, a process that has occurred over millions of years.

In our prehistoric past, Britain has sweltered in jungle heat then been coated with ice sheets. Today we are in an interglacial period with slight warming that should be welcomed as it greens the world, providing longer growing periods for crops.

Britain is already an impressive wine producer and tuna can be caught off our southern coasts. Better summers will give us a booming tourist industry. Adaptation is the name of the game, not a chimerical attempt to halt the process altogether.

The net zero band wagon has only gained momentum because left-wing politicians and activists see it as an excuse to bring down capitalism and industrialisation. But it’s economic growth that funds the welfare state and all the hand-outs they want. Without domestic energy production and dynamic industries, there are fewer jobs and fewer taxes paid. It is a doom loop that trade unions have long opposed and so now do some right-minded Labour backbenchers mindful of the fate of their constituents.

There is no longer a consensus across political parties about climate change and both the Conservatives and Reform have made clear their opposition to net zero and the national self-harm caused by it. International conferences like COP31 are way behind the curve and just wasting time and effort.

This week in Turkey Burnham is spouting a whole lot of baloney about Britain being a leader in green matters – a race no sane country wants to win – but he is also a political opportunist who knows he cannot afford to lose votes in the next election. It is up to Labour backbenchers to strongly make their case for a big dose of common sense that brings back energy production and industrial jobs to our shores. It is a battle for the future of this country that we cannot afford to lose.

Andy Burnham’s Backbenchers Are Finally Waking Up to This Danger – Will the Prime Minister?

An Essay on Grooming Gangs, Political Responsibility and the Protection of Children in the United Kingdom

The issue of grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation has become one of the most serious and controversial challenges facing British society. For many years, victims and campaigners have demanded justice, transparency and stronger action from politicians and law-enforcement agencies. However, despite numerous investigations and public inquiries, concerns remain about whether the authorities have done enough to prevent these crimes and protect vulnerable children.

The growing concern among Labour backbenchers, including politicians associated with Andy Burnham’s political circle, has brought renewed attention to the issue. Their willingness to question the government’s approach suggests that the debate is no longer confined to opposition politicians or campaign groups. It is increasingly becoming an issue within the governing political party itself.

The headline, “Andy Burnham’s Backbenchers Are Finally Waking Up to This Danger – Will the PM?”, raises an important question: will Prime Minister Keir Starmer respond to these concerns with concrete action, or will the issue continue to generate political arguments without sufficient progress?

1. Growing Concern Among Labour MPs

The growing debate reflects a broader recognition that child sexual exploitation cannot be treated as an ordinary political disagreement. It involves serious criminal offences, failures of public administration and the fundamental responsibility of the state to protect children.

For years, survivors of grooming gangs have described how their warnings were ignored. Some were subjected to repeated abuse while institutions failed to respond effectively. Previous investigations into cases in Rotherham and other towns revealed shortcomings in policing, social services and local government.

The renewed political debate is partly driven by Baroness Louise Casey’s national audit, published in June 2025. Her findings highlighted inadequate data collection, institutional failures and the failure to implement lessons from previous investigations.

Her subsequent criticism that progress had been too slow has placed additional pressure on Labour politicians. Ministers had accepted all 20 recommendations, but important questions remained about implementation, particularly the collection of information about offenders’ ethnicity and religion.

Labour MPs who raise these concerns are confronting an important question within their own party: how can a government claim to have learned from previous scandals if the same institutional weaknesses continue to exist?

2. Why the Prime Minister Must Take Responsibility

The responsibility for addressing grooming gangs ultimately rests with the government. The Prime Minister must ensure that the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, police forces and local authorities work together effectively.

This does not mean that the Prime Minister should personally direct individual criminal investigations. Rather, the government must establish a framework in which police officers can investigate independently, victims receive appropriate support and public institutions are held accountable for their decisions.

A particularly important issue is the implementation of the Casey recommendations. Political acceptance of a report is only the beginning of reform. The public needs evidence that recommendations have been translated into policies, funding, training and measurable improvements.

There must also be clear deadlines. Without them, government departments can repeatedly promise progress while avoiding responsibility for delays.

The Prime Minister should regularly report to Parliament on the implementation of child-protection reforms and explain which recommendations have been completed, which remain outstanding and why.

3. The Importance of Ethnicity and Transparency

One of the most controversial aspects of the grooming gang scandal concerns the ethnicity of offenders.

Baroness Casey has argued that the authorities need better information about ethnicity and religion to understand the nature and scale of group-based child sexual exploitation. Her criticism is that the lack of reliable data has prevented meaningful analysis and allowed important questions to remain unanswered.

This is a difficult subject, but avoiding it does not help victims. Authorities should collect accurate information and investigate any relevant patterns without political interference.

At the same time, it is essential to distinguish between individual criminal responsibility and collective identity. The crimes committed by particular offenders must never be used to stigmatise entire Asian, Muslim or other communities.

The overwhelming majority of people belonging to these communities have no involvement in such crimes. Many are themselves concerned about child exploitation and want perpetrators brought to justice.

A responsible government must therefore defend two principles simultaneously: equality for every community and zero tolerance for sexual exploitation.

Transparency should not be sacrificed to political sensitivity, but neither should the pursuit of transparency become an excuse for racial discrimination.

4. Learning from Previous Institutional Failures

The historical grooming gang scandals exposed serious weaknesses in Britain’s child-protection systems.

In several cases, victims reported abuse but were not taken seriously. Some were wrongly regarded as troublesome teenagers rather than children in need of protection. Other victims experienced repeated exploitation because information was not shared effectively between public authorities.

These failures demonstrate why institutional accountability is essential.

Police forces must receive appropriate training to recognise grooming, investigate organised sexual exploitation and protect vulnerable witnesses. Social workers must have sufficient resources to identify children at risk. Schools and healthcare professionals must also understand how to recognise warning signs and report concerns.

Furthermore, authorities should examine whether previous complaints were ignored because of prejudice, institutional pressure, poor professional judgment or inadequate resources.

Where misconduct is established, appropriate disciplinary or legal action must follow.

The government should also ensure that whistle-blowers are protected. Individuals who raise legitimate concerns about institutional failures should not face intimidation or professional consequences simply because their findings are uncomfortable.

The purpose of reform should not be to create another political controversy. It should be to prevent future abuse and ensure that public institutions fulfil their responsibilities.

5. The Independent Inquiry and the Search for Justice

The statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs represents an important opportunity to investigate the failures of institutions across Britain.

The inquiry, chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield, has been established to examine why previous investigations and recommendations so often failed to produce meaningful change.

In October 2026, the inquiry announced details of its National Accountability Hearings. The first hearings are scheduled for December 2026 and January 2027, with further hearings planned for March and April 2027.

The inquiry will examine the experiences of victims and survivors and require relevant organisations to explain what they did to protect children and why previous recommendations were not implemented effectively.

This process is particularly important because it can help establish where responsibility lies.

However, an inquiry must not become another lengthy exercise that produces a report without meaningful consequences. Its findings should lead to practical improvements, and institutions should be required to demonstrate that they have acted on its recommendations.

Victims deserve more than expressions of sympathy. They deserve recognition, access to justice and long-term psychological support.

6. Protecting Children Must Come Before Party Politics

One of the greatest dangers in this debate is that political parties may become more interested in attacking their opponents than solving the underlying problem.

The Conservative Party has criticised Labour over its handling of the grooming gang scandal. Labour politicians, meanwhile, face pressure from their own colleagues and campaigners to demonstrate that the government is taking the issue seriously.

Political disagreement is a normal part of democracy. Indeed, opposition scrutiny can help expose weaknesses in government policy.

Nevertheless, child protection should be an area where parties can cooperate.

There should be agreement on several fundamental principles:

• Every allegation of child sexual exploitation must be investigated seriously.

• Victims must be treated with dignity and protected from further harm.

• Offenders must be prosecuted regardless of their ethnicity, religion, wealth or political connections.

• Reliable information must be collected to understand patterns of offending.

• Public officials must be held accountable when serious failures are established.

• Government recommendations must be implemented within clear and realistic deadlines.

These principles should apply regardless of which political party controls Parliament.

7. What Should the Prime Minister Do Next?

The Prime Minister should respond to the growing concerns within Labour by introducing a comprehensive programme of action.

First, the government should publish a transparent timetable for implementing all the recommendations made by Baroness Casey.

Second, it should improve national data collection, ensuring that information about offenders is accurate, consistent and collected lawfully. This would allow researchers and investigators to identify patterns without making unsupported generalisations.

Third, police forces should review historical cases where credible evidence may have been overlooked. Any decision to reopen an investigation must be based on evidence and proper legal procedures.

Fourth, the government should provide sufficient resources for specialist investigators, victim-support organisations and child-protection services.

Finally, ministers should establish an independent monitoring process to assess whether reforms are actually improving outcomes for children.

The government has already taken certain measures. For example, in August 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that rape, serious child sexual offences and other grooming offences would be excluded from planned sentencing changes. The government also announced stronger supervision measures for offenders.

These measures demonstrate that the issue has received government attention, but sentencing policy alone cannot resolve the wider institutional problems identified by previous investigations.

A comprehensive response must address prevention, policing, prosecution, victim support and accountability together.

Conclusion

The growing concern among Labour backbenchers over grooming gangs highlights an important challenge for the British government. It demonstrates that the issue cannot simply be dismissed as an opposition talking point or a politically inconvenient controversy.

The experiences of victims, the findings of previous investigations and Baroness Louise Casey’s criticism all underline the importance of meaningful institutional reform.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces the responsibility of ensuring that government promises lead to measurable improvements. He must demonstrate that his administration is prepared to confront uncomfortable questions, investigate historical failures and protect children without fear or favour.

Equally, political leaders must avoid using this issue to encourage racial hostility or collective blame. Justice must be based on individual responsibility, reliable evidence and the rule of law.

Ultimately, the most important question is not whether Labour politicians, Conservatives or other political figures win the political argument. It is whether vulnerable children are safer than they were before.

The victims of grooming gangs have waited too long for justice. Their voices must finally be heard, their suffering must be acknowledged and those responsible for abuse must face the consequences.

A government’s success in addressing this scandal should be measured not by the strength of its political statements, but by the number of children it protects, the victims it supports and the institutional failures it finally puts right.