Campaigners and MPs call for air quality to be addressed as a ‘social justice issue’

Campaigners and MPs have called for more emphatic action to tackle air pollution in Britain at this year’s Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

The LabourList event, in partnership with Global Action Plan and Impact on Urban Health, highlighted the challenges posed by high levels of air pollution in many parts of the country.

The issue has been thrust into public conversation in recent years amid health warnings over pollution and measures to combat it such as the London Ultra-Low Emission Zone.

Larissa Lockwood, Director of Clean Air at Global Action Plan, says the issue of clean air is “a social justice issue”. She argued: “It really is a problem that we need to solve. It is a luxury that at the moment we cannot afford.”

A WHO report from 2018 found that 93% of the world’s children under 15-years-old breathe air of poor enough quality to put their health and development at risk.

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Speaking at the event, Dr Sinead Millwood, a GP and clean air activist, called for a major public health campaign against the risks posed by toxic air.

She said: “Air pollution has actually overtaken other risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking, to become the number one leading cause of poor health worldwide.”

The panel also discussed prospective solutions to the air quality crisis, with musician and campaigner Love Ssega suggesting making public transport free in an effort to reduce pollution emissions from mass car use.

He added: “It’s important to highlight the lack of diversity within the UK climate space.”

Adam Jogee, Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, spoke about specific air quality issues facing his constituency and noted the slightly intangible nature of the threat.

“The late Queen used to say that she had to be seen to be believed. “We won’t be able to see air, but we have to talk about the impact and the consequences the doctors and health professionals have to deal with.”

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