One even claimed there was an "agenda at play" and "freedom to think for yourself is being censored".

A motion was put before Worcestershire County Council that "it agrees with the scientific consensus that man-made climate change exists".

The motion was passed, with Green, Lib Dem, Conservative, Labour and independent councillors voting in favour.

CLIMATE: Chris McSweeny said he "never thought" he'd be defending scientific fact in a meeting (Image: Worcestershire County Council)

But 20 Reform councillors voted against the motion and four abstained.

Proposing the motion, Lib Dem councillor Chris McSweeny said: "I never thought I'd have to be defending scientific fact in a meeting of Worcestershire County Council, but here we are."

In July, council environment chief Ian Cresswell refused to commit to an answer when asked if climate change was happening and whether it was caused by human activity.

"Make no mistake, this is fundamentally a question of whether or not we believe in science," Cllr McSweeny continued.

"I trust the work of climate scientists, because that's the way science works - we stand on the shoulders of giants.

AGENDA: Jenny Shaw said "freedom to think for yourself is being censored"(Image: Worcestershire County Council)

"There is no debate on this. That man-made climate change exists is about as close to an indisputable fact as you can get."

Reform councillor Jenny Shaw said: "If you do a Google search to look for counter-arguments to man-made climate change, you cannot find any.

"This is your first red flag to show there is an agenda at play, and freedom to think for yourself is being censored.

"The climate has changed through millennia, way before humans existed and will do so long after humans become extinct.

"Some of the changes in weather and make-up of the atmosphere can be attributed to natural phenomena that we as humans have no influence on whatsoever - strength of the sun, volcanic activity, tectonic plates and the Milankovitch theory."

Cllr McSweeny said: "Nobody is denying the climate has always changed, nobody is denying there are lots of other factors involved.

"We have lots of evidence for climate change over a long period ."

The European Commission says "burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature" and that "human-induced global warming is presently increasing at a rate of 0.25°C per decade."