PM: Britain is a ‘tinderbox’ but we can’t accept wildfire devastation as the ‘new normal’
The prime minister has said “we cannot accept this as the new normal” as he visited the site of burnt-out houses in the West Midlands.
Mr Burnham said “Britain is a tinderbox right now” – with “37 fires smouldering” and property and lives at risk.
He said the wildfire in Stourbridge had left people homeless and others, including firefighters, injured.
Nineteen homes were destroyed in the blaze yesterday and 19 people were taken to hospital due to fires across the West Midlands.
He told broadcasters he was shocked by the scenes: “I’ve never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering”.
“Farmers are watching crops fail and firefighters have faced hundreds of wildfires in a matter of weeks,” Mr Burnham added in a video on X.
“This is what climate change looks like here and now.”
As well as a temporary ban on disposal barbeques – a potential cause in some of the current wildfires, he said fire services would get emergency funding and 100 military personnel had been sent to help fight a fire in South Wales.
“We also have to tackle the causes of climate change and make Britain more resilient to the extreme weather we’re already experiencing.
“We shouldn’t just accept this as inevitable – and I don’t,” he said.
Mr Burnham urged people not to light any fires outside as it “could be putting someone else’s home at risk, even their lives”.
He also revealed plans to commission firefighting aircraft – a familiar sight in Europe and the US but something Britain doesn’t currently possess.
An emergency summit with fire chiefs will also be held, as the PM conceded they hadn’t been given enough money to deal with the effects of climate change – including possible floods later in the year.
“I want our firefighters to know that I understand how it seems from their point of view, and I’m going to convene that summit to make sure we get in place the right support, including the aerial support, permanently if that is what they deem is needed,” he said.