Who pays the piper?

Richard Roger Helmer MEP has not troubled my universe before but I'm intrigued by a posting of his on the ConservativeHome website.

In it Mr Helmer advances the view that climate change is nothing to fear as it's all part of long term cycle and therefore nothing to do with human intervention.

So far, so normal for the sceptics. There may not be many of them but they make a lot of noise and that's what happens in a democracy.

At the end Mr Helmer says:
"Roger Helmer has just published a DVD entitled "Straight Talking on Climate Change".... The DVD is available free of charge from his UK office"

And all I wondered was who produced this? I mean, that's some effort and expense to go on this issue. He's obviously serious about this as his blog talks about him chairing and hosting (theirs a difference?) a Counter Consensual Cimate Conference in Brussels last month. (Gotta love that alliteration).

It's just an idle thought but I wondered where the money for this came from? And how many of the 4.1 million East Midlands residents he represents support his view?

Mr Helmer's CV on his blog says that he got a BA in maths (and an MA as well it looks like, but it is unclear from the wording) and has worked in "marketing and general management" for all sorts of different firms. In other words it seems he's got little expertise in the science pertaining to climate change but is pretty confident he knows better than people who spend their life studying this stuff and have to prove their theories to their peers rather than spout off randomly.

Mr Helmer is honoury chairman of the Freedom Association which has a long history of championing freedom provided that freedom is for businesses to do as they wish, for trade unions to be legislated into oblivion and for people who hold left wing views to be smeared and traduced.

Hat tip: LabourHome

Update: corrected my sloppy error in the intro thanks to Mr Helmer's reply which is in the comments section but thought I should highlight for sake of balance

He wrote: "I'd like to know who this Richard Helmer is [I deserved that. ed].  The DVD was paid for from my parliamentary allowances.  And I don't "Know better" than the scientists.  But I have listened to scientists from both sides of the debate, and have uded [sic] that the alarmist hypothesis is mistaken."

Gotta credit the MEP for his swift response. Still not sure about paying for such stuff out of your allowances (just seems odd) and have asked for an explanation.

Comments

[Roger Helmer]

I'd like to know who this Richard Helmer is. The DVD was paid for from my parliamentary allowances. And I don't "Know better" than the scientists. But I have listened to scientists from both sides of the debate, and have uded that the alarmist hypothesis is mistaken.