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Tory MP David Davies attacks climate change activists The 1975 in new open letter

Nick Reilly

The band are yet to respond

Welsh MP David Davies has hit out at The 1975 after the band teamed up with Greta Thunberg on a recent track to promote climate change activism.

The Monmouth MP accused the band of hypocrisy, claiming that their support of both Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion is at odds with flying across the globe for their upcoming world tour.

Davies wrote: “Given your concern about a ‘climate emergency’, I just wondered how you are going to get to these places?

“Are you travelling to Asia on the Trans-Siberian Express? Or will you be sailing in a £4m super-yacht like your mate Greta [Thunberg]?”

The Manchester band, fronted by Matty Healy, recently teamed up with Thunberg on ‘The 1975’ – a spoken word essay about the effects of climate change. It is the first song taken from their forthcoming album ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’.

Earlier this week, Thunberg arrived in New York to speak at the United Nations climate summits after sailing 3,000 miles from Plymouth in a zero-emissions yacht.

Mr Davies accused the group of being a “tad hypocritical” ahead of their planned shows in South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong and other global touring stop-offs.

“There may be a ‘climate emergency’ but any reasonable person can see that wealthy musicians being unable to fly where and when they want, to play gigs, would be a far greater emergency,” Davies added.

While the band are yet to directly respond, their manager Jamie Oborne accused Davies of seeking “5 minutes” of fame.

“So Parliament is suspended at the most important time in modern UK politics and the most pressing issue on this clowns mind is looking for clout on Twitter. Enjoy your 5 minutes,” wrote Oborne.

“Is this really the best we have?! I can feel a change coming and it feels good.”

Describing their collaboration with Thunberg, both Healy and Oborne have said that she is “the most important person in the world to give a platform to. Other artists didn’t want to do it – it’s madness. Bigger artists than The 1975.”

Oborne added: “After we met her in Stockholm and recorded it, we agreed it just wasn’t a statement that could wait six months to come out. It felt like that would’ve made it a vanity exercise.”