THIS week the Conservative Party spring conference in Blackpool took place.

During the conference, Brexit Opportunities Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, dismissed the recent party gate controversy as “fundamentally trivial”.

The scandal that involved high-profile members of the government breaching covid regulations led to resignation calls for the Prime Minister.

This was brushed off by Rees-Mogg as “political fluff". Referencing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine in his podcast called “The Moggcast” Rees-Mogg said: “It is a reminder that the world is serious, that there are serious things to be discussed and serious decisions for politicians to take.… all that nonsense is shown for the trivial nature of it... I’d say the same of ‘party gate’.

“All of that is shown up for the disproportionate fluff of politics that it was rather than something of fundamental seriousness about the safety of the world and the established global order.”

However, Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden contradicted Rees-Mogg by saying that any suggestion of misconduct by politicians needed to be “taken seriously” amidst allegations of Number 10 lockdown breaches.

At the same Conservative Party conference, Boris Johnson sparked fury in many by comparing the invasion of Ukraine to the Brexit referendum.

In his speech, he proclaimed that Britons, like Ukrainians, had the instinct to “choose freedom”, referencing the 2016 Brexit vote as a “recent example”.

The speech triggered many British and European politicians. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called the comparison an “insult” to Ukraine and former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk joining him in calling the comments offensive, tweeting: "Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense."

Many climate activists will be worried by what was said by Oliver Dowden, Conservative chair, during the Conservative Party Conference. Earlier this week, Dowden attacked “net-zero dogma” in comments that would lead many to believe that the Conservatives are prepared to dilute their commitments in confronting the prominent issues of global warming and climate change, saying: “I think the British people want to see a bit of conservative pragmatism, not net-zero dogma”.

This is contradictory to the actions of the British public. In Somerset residents are being encouraged to take part in the Great British Spring Clean and the new mowing scheme developed by Somerset West and Taunton Council both demonstrating consistency in tackling ecological and environmental emergencies.

With the government hinting that climate change will fall down their agenda for their next election, and the public ramping up their efforts in confronting the issue, it could lead many to believe that the current government is out of touch with the public.