SOMERSET MPs have not fared well in a national newspaper scoring system judging their record on environmental issues.

The Guardian has created a 'climate ranking' system which rates all MPs on their record in 16 indicative climate votes between 2008 and 2018, with each MP given a score of from 0% to 100%.

The lower the score, the worse the record, according to the system.

"This analysis is meant to be a starting point, rather than the final word," the Guardian wrote.

"Due to the party whip system and arcane parliamentary rules, it cannot be a definitive guide to an MP’s climate credentials. But it is a tool for voters to question whether their MPs are representing their climate concerns.

"The votes and a list of relevant interests were chosen by the Guardian and DeSmog (an organisation which analyses environmental issues as addressed by political groups) in consultation with other experts, who also determined whether votes were pro-climate or not."


READ MORE: Click here to check on MPs using the Guardian's scoring system


And Somerset MPs did not score well...

A self-proclaimed environmental champion - and current environment minister - Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow was handed a score of 0%.

The rating comes after Ms Pow, in 2018, was handed a Green Heart Hero Award from the Climate Coalition for being the 'greenest new MP'.

But for the six votes she took part in which were considered by the ranking system, she did not vote 'positively' in a single one.

However, she was not alone in scoring 0%.

Wells MP James Heappey and Yeovil representative, Marcus Fysh, also scored 0%.

In the north of the county, Liam Fox and Jacob Rees-Mogg scored 17%, while Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger came out on top, with a score of 36%.


How Somerset MPs were ranked:
Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) - 0%
James Heappey (Wells) - 0%
Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) - 0%
David Warburton (Somerton and Frome) - 0%
Liam Fox (North Somerset) - 17%
Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset) - 17%
Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) - 36%


However, the Somerset MPs scoring zero were in good company, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson joining them.

The average voting score for members of Mr Johnson's cabinet was 17%, compared with the Labour shadow cabinet score of 90%.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, scored 92%.

For the emissions-related votes, Conservative MPs averaged 17%, while non-Conservatives scored 80% on average, the Guardian said.

Labour averaged 86%, Liberal Democrats 51%, Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru 100%, Change UK 59% and the DUP 62%.

Sinn Féin had no score because its MPs boycott parliament. The average MP’s score was 50%.

In response, the Conservative Party called the ranking system 'complete nonsense', according to the Guardian, while Labour welcomed the study.

The Lib Dems questioned the methodology, saying they would have scored higher if different votes were chosen.