Lib Dems Urge PM Burnham to Convene Cross-Party Talks Ahead of 'Super El Niño' Winter
The Liberal Democrats have publicly called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to bring party leaders together for a cross-party meeting on the UK's readiness for worsening extreme weather, including a forecast "super El Niño" that scientists and policymakers say could intensify flooding and storms this autumn and winter. The Guardian
Pippa Heylings, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for energy security and net zero, alongside party leader Ed Davey, wrote to Burnham two weeks ago proposing the meeting. The letter called for long-term measures to protect the country from climate impacts and build resilience to extreme weather. Heylings says they have not received a response. The Guardian
Heylings described the scale of the "super El Niño" as unprecedented, warning it will worsen extreme weather in the UK, with more intense flooding and storms over the autumn and winter. El Niño is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that disrupts global wind and weather patterns. The "super" label refers to an unusually powerful episode, one strong enough to amplify effects on weather systems far from the Pacific, including those reaching the British Isles.
The Lib Dem appeal has drawn support from outside the party. Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, backed the call for a cross-party meeting on climate preparedness. But the prospects for such a gathering look uncertain within Labour's own ranks. Jon Pearce, the Labour MP for High Peak, warned that a cross-party climate meeting was unlikely, pointing to the Conservatives and Reform UK as parties unlikely to confront climate risks. The Guardian
The pressure on Burnham comes amid growing political and public unease over his perceived silence on climate as a cause of the UK's extreme weather. Green groups wrote to the prime minister earlier in August asking why he has remained silent on climate change as the driving cause of the UK's extreme weather. GND Rising A Guardian commentary piece published on 14 August 2026 criticized Burnham for ignoring the climate crisis, stating that extreme heat is harming the wellbeing of ordinary people. The Guardian
The political weight of the issue has climbed sharply. According to Sky News reporting, climate change rose up the UK political agenda in 2026 for voters more than any other issue, and is disproportionately important to Labour and Green voters. Sky News
The broader context here matters for two reasons. First, the UK's climate adaptation frameworks, such as the National Adaptation Programme and the Climate Change Committee's statutory advice, are built around planning for gradual warming. A "super El Niño" brings sudden, short-term extremes that those frameworks were not primarily designed to handle, opening a gap between long-term resilience planning and seasonal emergency response. Second, the voter coalition that delivered Burnham his mandate appears to be the one most invested in climate action, raising the cost of inaction not only in policy terms but in electoral ones.
The crossbench dynamics are also revealing. Lewis's support suggests the Lib Dem proposal is not being dismissed as partisan positioning. Pearce's pessimism, however, points to a structural barrier: cross-party engagement requires participation from parties that may calculate acknowledging climate risks carries political costs. The Conservatives and Reform UK, in Pearce's view, are the holdouts most likely to refuse.
What remains unresolved is whether Burnham will respond before the autumn and winter seasons the "super El Niño" is expected to intensify. The letter was sent two weeks ago. The El Niño forecast is not contingent on political will. The preparedness gap, if it exists, will be exposed by weather, not by debate.
