Something funny is in the water in Oxfordshire. In recent months councillors there have embarked on a spree of unorthodox eco-measures, no doubt encouraged by the Green party’s gains in local elections. Back in March, TV star Jeremy Clarkson led a protest of farmers, enraged by the County Council’s decision to only provide ‘plant-based’ food at council meetings, even though it cost taxpayers more.

And now, Mr S has discovered the latest taxpayer-funded wheeze: a new website called ‘Climate Action Oxfordshire’ with some intriguing advice for the local subjects who funded it. Among its advice includes telling local residents to ‘adopt a plant-based diet’, ‘choose waste-free menstrual products’ and ‘choose ethical banking and investments.’ In a snub to Oxfordshire’s rural farming communities, the website directs users to the Vegan Society, claiming ‘With 58 per cent of our food emissions coming from animal products, consider taking the steps to go vegan.’ It also asks ‘Why not try going veggie for a month and see how it goes?’ This is despite the fact that red meat produced in Britain is among the most sustainable in the world, with cattle and sheep accounting for just 3.7 per cent of UK carbon emissions when the carbon stored in grassland is included.

Climate Action Oxfordshire also calls for divestment from fossil fuel companies and financial institutions investing in such products. It writes ‘Banks are companies that are required to make a profit. Right now, funding fossil fuels is profitable – but losing customers is not profitable. By pledging to move your money to a sustainable financial institution, you will send a message to your bank that it must defund fossil fuels.’ It also urges ‘do not be silent’ and urges ‘writing to your MP… whether that’s supporting MPs who are already supporting an environmental agenda or questioning those who could do more.’ Bet those in Westminster look forward to receiving those…

Billing itself as ‘one stop shop for tackling climate change in Oxfordshire,’ the site is endorsed by all the local authorities (including Tory-controlled Cherwell) and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Launched in early July, a Freedom of Information request shows that the website attracted an average number of just 55 unique users a day in its first three weeks – a somewhat low figure for the 700,000 strong population of Oxfordshire. The Countryside Alliance is now writing to all district leaders asking them to remove their endorsements. A spokesman told Mr S that:

No council, especially one that allegedly supports our farmers should have anything to do with a website that seeks to undermine their hard work. Challenging assumptions about the benefits of some plant-based products and the casual denigration of livestock farming matters because, if they are allowed to go unchallenged they threaten the sustainability of both the planet and the countryside.

Sounds like the right-on commissars of Oxfordshire haven’t herd the last of this…