‘Seriously wrong’: flood-hit Lincolnshire residents at odds with Reform MP over climate | Flooding

“TThe worst thing was the smell,” said Audrey Crook, 58. A full-time caregiver who lives with her 20-year-old son, Crook woke up one night at 11 p.m. and found a foot of floodwater on the ground floor of her house. “It was like black water. There was sewage and everything in it, it was absolutely disgusting.

Crook’s home – along with more than 30 others on Wyberton West Road and Park Road in Boston, Lincolnshire – was flooded in January last year when heavy rain swept through the area, raising river levels and overcoming flood defences.

“My house doesn’t look at all like it used to,” says Crook, who has yet to receive any money from his insurance for the contents of his home. “I had old rugs, Indian silks. They’re all gone. I lost them all.”

Boston, nestled at the northern end of the Fens, is on the front line of the UK’s flooding crisis, which experts warn could lead to some towns being abandoned as climate change renders many areas uninsurable.

According to the Environment Agency, 91% of buildings in the Boston and Skegness constituency are at some level of flood risk – more than in any other English constituency. And the science clearly shows that winters are getting wetter in the UK due to climate change, with warmer air retaining more water vapor, meaning heavier downpours.

However, local MP Richard Tice is one of Reform UK’s most vocal opponents of climate action, regularly calling the UK’s efforts to reach net zero “stupid”. Just a month after floods hit homes in his constituency, Tice told Sky News the idea of ​​man-made climate change was “rubbish”.

This did not go down well with some of his constituents. “I’m sorry, if they think climate change has nothing to do with it, I think they’re seriously wrong,” Crook says.

The day after the flood, Tice said in a statement that he was “fully aware of the damage caused by the flooding” and that his team was “working tirelessly to help constituents, and we will continue to provide our support throughout this ongoing crisis.”

However, more than 12 months later, some residents say the local MP has still not been in touch. “We’re still waiting for Richard Tice to arrive,” says Crook. “He didn’t show his face. A lot of people were angry about it…That’s his job. And if he can’t show up, he can send a deputy, right?”

Boston residents’ anger highlights a growing problem for the Reform Party and the climate-skeptical stance of its leaders at Westminster. A recent poll by Hope Not Hate found that, unlike some party MPs, more than half of potential Reform Party voters agree that climate change is caused by human activities.

Alasdair Johnstone, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), says there is a growing tension between the climate skeptic instincts of Reformers and the everyday reality of many of their voters and supporters.

A poll carried out for the ECIU found that more than half of those who planned to vote Reform in last year’s local elections supported efforts to combat climate change. Johnstone says: “We’re finding that while people are seeing the impacts of climate change on their lives firsthand, it doesn’t sit well with them when they’re told it’s not happening – there’s an obvious tension there. »

In Boston, more than a year after their homes were flooded after the South Forty Foot Drain embankment failed, many residents are still trying to rebuild their lives, waiting to hear from insurance claims or take care of repairs.

“It’s frustrating to hear all these public statements about ‘stupid net zero’ and things like that without addressing residents’ flooding needs,” says local resident Andy Robinson.

Crook says she and her son have experienced sleepless nights since the flood. “It’s panic,” she said. “Every time the drain is high in the back, we all panic because we just think, ‘Oh my God, what if this happens again?'”

A resident says some homes have become “unmortgageable” due to the risk of flooding. “We can’t sell, we can’t move,” said the woman, who did not wish to be named. “My insurance for the year – contents and buildings – is now over £900. »

These fears are backed by research published on Wednesday which reveals more than 400,000 homeowners across England could become “mortgage prisoners” trapped in high-interest mortgages for flood-prone properties that they cannot easily sell.

The report, carried out by Public First and the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, revealed that Tice’s constituency was the ‘climate mortgage capital of England’, with 8,600 homes at high risk by 2050 – the highest number in the country.

In a response to the Guardian, Tice called the criticism “politically motivated bullshit”. He said that even if “the UK and the rest of the world reached net zero tomorrow”, sea level rise and flooding would remain a problem for centuries.

“My priority has therefore been to ensure practical and immediate protections for residents,” he said. “This means focusing on adaptation: well-maintained rivers, effective drainage systems, dredging where appropriate and significant investment in maritime defence. These measures will do far more to protect local livelihoods than distant net zero targets, which do not materially reduce near-term flood risk in Boston and Skegness.”

He said he had raised concerns about the flooding in Parliament and met with the Environment Agency and affected residents and local groups.

“Constituents who contacted my office during the floods received practical support and advice and were encouraged to share their experiences and evidence so we can strengthen the case for urgent action from the Government and the Environment Agency… I want decisive action now to ensure real protection for the future,” Tice said.

Reform took over Lincolnshire County Council from the Conservative Party in May 2025, and this month abandoned its net zero emissions target to become carbon neutral by 2050 – one of seven Reform-led councils to do so since being elected, according to a Grantham Research Institute study on climate change and the environment.

In a statement, council leader Sean Matthews told the Guardian that net zero targets would have cost too much. “We all want to live in a cleaner environment and do the right thing when it comes to being environmentally friendly. But should it cost us all?” he said.

“I am not prepared to use taxpayers’ money in a way that does not benefit them… I do not believe that carbon emissions in the UK are significant enough to justify such a pace of change. The impacts on households and businesses – both financially and on local communities – are simply too damaging.”

Chris Miller, the council’s environment manager, said all households affected by the floods in January last year were invited to apply for the ‘property flood grant’ scheme. “Following this contact, [the council] received seven completed application forms and signed letters of agreement,” he said.

The Tice constituency has been promised at least £55 million from the government’s £1.4 billion flood defense fund for England since 2024, the second largest sum for a single constituency, according to Carbon Brief analysis. But despite the extra money and assurances, some Wyberton West Road residents remain skeptical.

Malcolm Fairweather, a 71-year-old resident, said “there had been no action” on his concerns after the council switched to the Reform Party.

Cain Arathoon, Audrey Crook’s son and a student at Boston College, said: “No matter how many times you try to say climate change isn’t real, you can look at a street that’s been flooded and you’ll have your answer. We’re going to have to fix the problem before it becomes irreversible.”