Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has a novel solution to the climate crisis: just enjoy it. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Tice dismissed efforts to tackle climate breakdown as 'arrogant' and urged Britons to focus on the upsides - like better English wine.

This comes after a record-breaking summer where temperatures soared above 35C multiple times, leading to thousands of deaths, millions of hospital visits, and an estimated £4bn hit to the UK economy. But who needs facts when you have optimism?

The climate breakdown has been linked to increasingly frequent wildfires, with the UK recently experiencing its most widespread 'firewave' ever. Farmers are facing 'one of the worst ever' harvests, and firefighters have battled blazes in Derbyshire, the Midlands, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

'Of course, the climate changes, but where is the evidence that net zero is going to stop it?' Tice asked, presumably ignoring the mountain of scientific evidence. 'Climate change has always happened. It always will. Maybe the smarter thing to do is to adapt to it than think arrogantly that you can stop it.'

Comparing this summer to 1976 - which was longer but less intense - Tice said: '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.' Because nothing says 'climate resilience' like a wine tasting.

Reform has long campaigned to scrap the government's net zero by 2050 commitment and promises to end green subsidies if elected. The party has received tens of millions in donations from fossil fuel-linked figures, including billionaire Christopher Harborne, whose £5m gift to Nigel Farage is under parliamentary inquiry.

Tice has previously posted: 'We are not in climate emergency; nor is there a climate crisis. But yes, climate change is real because it has happened for millions of years past & will do in future.' So it's real, but not a crisis - got it.

His solution? Desalination plants, which he says work 'very, very successfully' in the Middle East, where he spends much of his time. 'We're surrounded by water. It is too difficult to build a reservoir - let's look at desalination plants.' Because the UK's problem is definitely a lack of water, not excess heat.

Climate experts were not amused. Alasdair Johnstone of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit noted: '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.

Greenpeace UK's Amy Cameron added: 'Tice's words show that a party bankrolled by fossil fuel interests will keep denying the climate crisis for its funders' benefit even when its impacts are undeniable. Reform should try telling nurses fainting on shifts, farmers losing their crops and people running from burning homes to enjoy the hot weather and see what reaction they'll get.'

In other Reform news, Robert Jenrick announced that long-term benefits claimants fit to work would be forced to do 20 hours of community work a week or lose their benefits. Because nothing says 'compassion' like mandatory litter picking.