Don't be doom and gloom about climate change and enjoy the warmer weather and better English wine, says Reform UK's Richard Tice

Reform UK's deputy leader has told Britons to stop being 'doom and gloom' about climate change and to instead 'enjoy' hotter weather and better UK-made wine.Richard Tice said it was 'arrogant' to believe Net Zero policies would stop climate change and it would be better to 'adapt' to a warmer environment.The UK has experienced a fifth heatwave of the summer, which saw the hottest day of the year recorded in Kew Gardens, London, on Thursday when temperatures reached 38.1C.Rain forecast for this week may bring some welcome relief to parched land and fire-fighters tackling wildfires.But there are fears of flooding if the forecast heavy rain hits hard, drought-stricken land.And it is unlikely to bring an end to widespread drought conditions that have put severe pressure on wildlife, farmers, emergency services and water resources.In July, the Met Office said that 2,700 people are thought to have died from heat-related causes during the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales.Of those, they estimated that 42 per cent 'died as a result of the extra heat caused by human-induced warming'. Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has told Britons to stop being 'doom and gloom' about climate change and to instead 'enjoy' hotter weather and better UK-made wineThousands of people headed to the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset, this weekend to cool off as the extreme heatwave continuedAsked on Monday if he believed climate change is real and what the solution to solving it is, Mr Tice said: 'Of course climate change is real, but where is the evidence that Net Zero is going to stop it? Where is the evidence? There isn't any.'Climate change has always happened, it always will. Maybe the smarter thing to do is to adapt to it, (rather) than think arrogantly you can stop it.'I'm old enough to remember 1976 – this feels a bit the same. That was 50 years ago.'I think when it's a bit warm, let's enjoy it. And if it means that English wine and sparkling wine gets better and better, fantastic. That means we can take on the French, fantastic.'Let's celebrate some of these things rather than just be sort of doom and gloom about it.'Mr Tice, who splits his time between the UK and the Middle East, drew a parallel with the region.'Where's been the discussion about desalination plans that are used in other parts of the world – very, very successfully,' he said.'There's not much water on land in the Middle East. They use desalination plants. We're surrounded by water. If it's too difficult to build a reservoir, let's look at desalination plants.'It's a can-do, business-like, get stuff done attitude, that this country needs in order to get us out of the mess we're currently in.'Speaking alongside Mr Tice at a press conference in central London, Reform's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said governments should build more reservoirs to take advantage of the wet winters.Labour announced nine new reservoirs in 2025. The first of that tranche may be completed in 2036.One that was previously under construction before the Government's announcement last year, Havant Thicket in Portsmouth, is already due to open in 2031. It will be the first new reservoir in more than 30 years.It was reported last week that Thames Water is preparing to restart the UK's only desalination plant, but it will not be ready until the winter.The Thames Gateway plant in Beckton, east London, has only been used a handful of times since it was first opened around 15 years ago.Responding to Mr Tice's suggestion that Britons 'adapt' to warmer summers, Alasdair Johnstone from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: 'The heatwaves this year and ensuing drought have left farmers facing the worst harvest on record, which will be of grave concern for farmers' livelihoods and, as climate change makes these events more frequent, the nation's food security.'Far from being an enjoyable experience, for many this summer will have brought hardship, with 2,877 deaths during the May and June heatwaves, over 1,100 of which are directly attributable to the extra heat added by climate change.'Firefighters have been called to over 1,000 wildfires, which have devastated the landscape, displaced people, and destroyed homes.'The only way these climate change impacts can be prevented from becoming more common and severe is to tackle the cause, which means reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050.'