Climate change is a local issue

This post is by Luke Murphy, Labour MP for Basingstoke, as part of our essay collection How to get Britain climate ready.

Climate change may seem distant, a crisis unfolding somewhere else in the world rather than here at home. It is even dismissed outright by parties like Reform, who suggest that its risk is exaggerated or not happening at all. This framing obscures the reality that its impacts are already affecting communities, infrastructure and ecosystems right now across the UK. The question is no longer whether it will shape our lives, but how we choose to confront the risks we are already seeing in our local areas.

As the MP for Basingstoke, it is important to be clear about what those local risks look like and address them. Evidence from the Climate Change Committee shows the UK already faces significant climate pressures, affecting critical sectors such as transport, agriculture and construction, as well as wider economic resilience. These risks are particularly important for Basingstoke, home to advanced manufacturing, digital industries, engineering firms and a growing population. Protecting infrastructure, our environment and our local economy means confronting climate risks directly.

An urgent environmental pressure facing my constituency is water. Basingstoke sits within an area classified as experiencing “serious water stress”, meaning water demand is close to what existing supply systems can reliably support. As our town continues to grow, that demand will increase.

Growth is important, young people need affordable homes to live in as well as a thriving environment, but it must be matched by the infrastructure to support it. Investment in water supply and modern infrastructure is essential to ensure reliable access in the decades ahead.

Our region is also home to internationally significant natural assets, including rare chalk streams such as the Rivers Loddon and Test, as well as the North Wessex Downs. These ecosystems do far more than just provide beautiful places to enjoy. They regulate water flows, support biodiversity, store carbon and protect against weather events like flooding.

Transport, energy and telecommunications are all significantly impacted by increased flood risk. For example, more than a third of the UK’s road and rail network is considered flood prone. Similarly, substations, pumping stations and communications hubs are often located in low-lying areas, leaving them exposed to flooding. When underground cable pits or conduits become inundated, the result can be blackouts and communications outages.

Planning frameworks are beginning to incorporate measures to improve resilience. Local policies increasingly require sustainable drainage systems, flood-resilient construction and catchment-level water management strategies. While important steps, they must continue to evolve to address the climate risks.

Alongside flooding, rising temperatures present another challenge across the South East. The UK Health Security Agency has warned that, without significant adaptation, extreme heat could lead to up to 10,000 heat-related deaths annually across the UK by the 2050s. The scale of the challenge has become clear this summer, with Southern England recording its driest and warmest month ever in July 2026, triggering record wildfires and widespread disruption.

Meanwhile, the period spanning 2023 and 2024 brought the wettest eighteen months on record, illustrating the growing volatility of our weather due to climate change.

In January 2026, the government announced the Warm Homes Plan; a crucial programme to ensure that homes, schools and public buildings stay cool during heatwaves, as well as warm during winter, through sustainable means, protecting vulnerable residents from temperature extremes and poor air quality.

Heat also affects infrastructure. Rail tracks buckle, road surfaces soften and overhead electricity lines sag when temperatures exceed the levels they were designed for. A very visible local example of this was the landslip on the railway line in my constituency at Hook in 2023 that resulted from heavy rain and disrupted travel for days.

At the same time, electricity demand rises as cooling systems and air conditioning become more widely used, particularly in energy intensive facilities like data centres. This is why improving the energy efficiency of homes and buildings through the Warm Homes Plan is so important, helping households stay comfortable in the heat while reducing pressure on the energy system.

Hotter conditions also intensify storms, which are another growing risk. Strong winds simultaneously damage power lines and disrupt transport and telecommunications networks. Instances such as the power outages across Basingstoke following Storm Amy in October 2025 show the considerable local impacts of severe weather.

As these trends make clear, climate change is not a distant, abstract issue. It is already shaping the environmental, economic and public health landscape in towns like Basingstoke. Water scarcity, flooding, extreme heat and the degradation of natural systems are all interconnected risks. They affect infrastructure, the environment, the economy and our quality of life.

The government and local authorities are responding. The government is strengthening resilience through updated national flood and coastal erosion datasets that incorporate future climate scenarios and support improved planning decisions. Investment in flood defences to protect homes and businesses also demonstrates a commitment to adapt to the more extreme weather we are now experiencing.

In Basingstoke, and across Hampshire, these national priorities are increasingly reflected in local action. Local authorities are developing habitat restoration and land use strategies through the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and embedding biodiversity net gain in planning policy so new development leads to measurable improvements in nature.

While this is meaningful progress, it’s essential to continue strengthening action to protect the communities in my constituency, and others across the country, from the very real, growing and cascading impacts of climate change.