As the UK endures its second entirely normal summer heatwave of the year, the climate doom-mongers are out in full force, demanding that the state self-destruct for the sake of the environment. Leading the charge is Green party leader Zack Polanski, who decided to lecture Andy Burnham—the guy everyone expects to be the next prime minister—on how "backsliding" on climate targets will send the Labour party straight into political obscurity. Polanski, apparently speaking from an air-conditioned room while the rest of the country enjoys the sun, called any compromise on net-zero a "moral and political failure" that would leave the country broke.

But Burnham is finding out that keeping the green lobby happy means starting an absolute civil war with the people who actually fund his party: the trade unions. While the white-collar activists at Unison are predictably calling for an immediate ban on North Sea oil and gas drilling, the blue-collar workers who actually keep the lights on aren't having it.

Sharon Graham, the head of Unite—the union representing actual energy workers—dropped some truth bombs on the green transition. She flatly stated that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s obsession with net-zero is nothing more than a "noose around the neck" of British job creation. Graham, alongside former health secretary Wes Streeting, is demanding that the government keep drilling, including giving the green light to the massive Rosebank oilfield. Even the British Chambers of Commerce had to state the obvious, warning Burnham that he needs to exploit whatever fossil fuels are left in the North Sea to prevent a massive wave of unemployment.

Of course, the anti-drilling crowd has brought out their favorite talking points, claiming that North Sea jobs have already halved over the last decade—dropping from 441,000 to 214,000—and pointing out that 90% to 93% of the oil has already been sucked dry. But they conveniently ignore the fact that shutting down domestic production overnight just means importing more energy from abroad while destroying what's left of the UK's industrial base.

The drama has escalated into a massive backroom brawl over who gets to be Burnham’s chancellor. The pragmatic wing of the party is backing Streeting, hoping he can keep Miliband’s unhinged environmental crusade in check. This has sent the leftist establishment into a total panic.

A "senior trade union source" leaked their tears to the press, complaining that Sharon Graham’s pro-drilling stance is "boosting Nigel Farage and his crypto-backers" and playing right into the hands of the Labour right. According to this anonymous source, having Streeting at the Treasury would be a "bad outcome for the working class," exposing the massive rift between the luxury-belief leftists and the actual working-class members who want to keep their jobs.