Firefighters’ union leader Steve Wright has warned that Reform’s electoral advances pose a risk to public safety, especially in areas where wildfires are an increasingly common occurrence.
The total area burnt by wildfires this year is already bigger than any year in over a decade. Wright said that the FBU would resist cuts from figures like Andrea Jenkyns, who this morning became Reform's first metro mayor in Greater Lincolnshire.
Jenkyns has promised to launch a “Lincolnshire DOGE”, echoing Trump’s cuts agenda. She is also a member of the board of ‘Net Zero Watch’, which lobbies against action on climate change.
As mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Jenkyns is now the most powerful Reform politician, in charge of an annual budget worth tens of millions.
The FBU general secretary warned that cuts planned by Reform in county councils and mayoral authorities could have devastating consequences.
Steve Wright, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said:
Reform’s agenda of cuts and climate denialism poses a grave risk to public safety.
Just look at Andrea Jenkyns, the new mayor of Greater Lincolnshire. She has championed a Trump-style approach to public spending and is an open opponent of action on climate change.
Firefighters know that climate change is real because they deal with its consequences. Our members are on the frontline of protecting communities against the surge in wildfires.
Since 2010, the fire service has lost 12,000 firefighter jobs. As a Tory MP, Jenkins backed those cuts.
She and other Reform politicians are part of the establishment. They want to blame migrants for the consequences of their own policies, and to divide workers against each other.
The FBU stands for public safety – and that means fighting for investment, anti-racism and climate action. We stand ready to oppose the politics of the far right.”
