Labour press conference descends into farce as replacement diesel media bus gets lost following "green" hydrogen bus failure

Jun 20, 2023

The saga of UK Labour’s Keir Starmer’s attempt to put on a “green” show certainly put a smile on my face. I hope that this brightens your day.

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                                     Screenshot source at Guido Fawkes

The National provides the following further details of Starmer’s faux green farse day.

Labour press conference descends into farce as media bus gets lost
19th June 2023
By Hamish Morrison • Twitter @HMorrison97 • Political Reporter
LABOUR were left red-faced after the prelude to a major press conference descended into farce.
Journalists said the party had originally arranged for a green hydrogen bus to ferry the media to Leith for Keir Starmer’s speech on Labour’s new energy policies but that it was swapped last minute for a diesel model.
Andy Philip, the head of politics at publisher DC Thomson, said: “An auspicious start as the hydrogen bus laid on to the Labour energy event in Edinburgh is switched for a diesel one.”
Severin Carrell, The Guardian’s Scotland editor, tweeted a picture of the bus saying the model was not a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Things got even worse when the bus became lost on the way to the venue with a journalist having to give directions to the harried driver.
Carrell tweeted: “Now the bus is lost. We are now pointing west down Ferry Road. The venue is near The Shore in Leith docks.”
READ MORE: Publicly owned clean energy firm to be based in Scotland, says Keir Starmer
He added: “A Daily Mail reporter is now directing the [Labour] diesel bus to the venue.”
Philips said the driver had to perform a three point turn on Ferry Road before the press pack arrived at the venue.
He tweeted: “Update from the road as bus now lost in Leith, hilariously. Going round in circles, if you will.
“Luckily an intrepid Edinburgh based reporter knows the way and is currently directing the driver, who is having a mare. Had an excellent view of the new electric tram line from the city centre though.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer is spending more time in Scotland. It's not paying off
“Success. 45 minutes and a three point turn on ferry road, performed by a passing Lothian bus driver. We have been driven down the road to the labour event.”
Once the press pack arrived at the venue, Starmer delivered a speech on Labour’s plans to meet net zero.
He argued for continued use of fossil fuels while banning new North Sea oil and gas exploration and said the headquarters of a proposed new public energy company would be in Scotland.
Starmer said: “If we wait until North Sea oil and gas runs out, the opportunities this change can bring for Scotland and your community will pass us by, and that would be a historic mistake.
“An error, for the future of Scotland, as big as the Thatcher government closing the coal mines, while frittering away the opportunity of the North Sea.”

If you haven’t already, I recommend reading the following posts about allegedly “green” hydrogen which is purported to be green because it is produced from intermittent and unreliable not clean nor green industrial wind turbines.