TEMPERATURES last week were uncomfortably hot in the county and dangerous in parts of England, showing that the dangers of climate change affect us here and aren’t restricted to distant lands.

Nor is it contained to the developing world, as fires, whether in urban East London or rural France, confirm.

This isn’t a once-in-a-generation event but could become an annual occurrence. It also follows upon the high and dangerous winds we had in winter. What if they speed up, just as the climate has heated up? Climate change is happening and we require to not just adapt but change our ways.

If we don’t limit greenhouse gas emissions, the future is frightening. It will be devastating for developing lands but, as we’ve seen this year, it will hit us too. In any event we are one world. . . and the impacts will reverberate north in refugees and other consequences.

COP26 last year was a cop out, despite the rhetoric of Boris Johnson and other world leaders. Action has been entirely inadequate and it’s even worse that the candidates for PM have been prevaricating about the urgency.

That can’t continue and the steps to be taken will impact us all in how we live. But they are essential for the lives of others and of future generations.

At Westminster, Johnson finally departed but the fact that he remains in office is still disgraceful and dangerous. He is by far the worst Prime Minister in generations. He is unfit for office and those who empowered him and supported him cannot avoid blame.

Neither candidate to replace him offers any improvement. Sunak was born into privilege and married into extreme wealth. Seeking to be PM when he sought a US Green Card, and his spouse had non-dom tax status, is absurd.

Meanwhile, Truss’s economic policies would worsen the damage already inflicted, making the poor subsidise the rich.

Modern Britain! It’s why independence is essential.