CAMPAIGNING parents slammed the Tories’ “obsession” with extracting more fossil fuels as temperatures climbed to 37°C on Wednesday.

Parents for Future UK said climate change is “no longer a distant threat” to children as at least 1,000 school and nursery closures in England and Wales were expected due to the heatwave.

Yet the Conservatives sparked condemnation by hosting a parliamentary debate on drilling for more North Sea oil and gas as Britain recorded its hottest June day on record with a provisional temperature of 35.7°C in Charlwood, Surrey.

Parents for Future UK co-director Charlotte Howell-Jones said: “Anyone experiencing this heat can see that climate change is no longer a distant threat. 

“As a parent, it is hard to understand how [Tory leader] Kemi Badenoch can pursue policies that would make a bad situation worse. 

“They are completely out of touch with the reality facing millions of parents, for whom a heatwave like this brings not just disruption, but anxiety about the future their children will face.”

Yesterday the climate change committee urged ministers to speed-up the switch to clean tech to lower domestic energy bills.

The advisers found a typical household running a gas boiler and petrol car could save £1,200 a year with an electric vehicle, heat pump, solar panels and a “time-of-use” energy tariff. 

Uplift deputy director Robert Palmer said: “The Conservative Party’s Trumpian obsession with oil and gas is blinding it to the reality of climate change affecting people right now.

“More drilling will not cut our energy bills, it will only increase profits for oil and gas companies while making the climate crisis worse. That is profoundly irresponsible.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Indoor workplaces should be kept at comfortable temperatures, with relaxed dress codes and flexible working to make use of the coolest hours of the day.  

“And employers must make sure outdoor workers are protected with regular breaks, lots of fluids, plenty of sunscreen and the right protective clothing. 

“As the climate crisis makes heatwaves more common, the UK needs to adapt. That means new laws on maximum working temperatures, improvements to workplaces to keep them cool, and ambitious climate action to tackle the problem at its root.”

Temperatures were set to peak at around 38°C on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Met Office.

The previous British June heat record of 35.6°C was set in the infamous summer of 1976.