When the Con-Dems were elected, most of the comments revolved around the fact that there was not much of national industry left to privatise ... there was still the post office and a fight was expected on that, but no one actually thought of the possibility of selling off the UK's natural resources ...
and then there was David Cameron ...
As if the concentration of wealth and land ownership in the UK was not already absurd, Cameron's environmental secretary Caroline Spelman (and certainly with his approval) had proposed selling off 258,000 hectares of British national forests:
Spelman said:
State control of forests dates back to the first world war, when needs were very different. There's now no reason for the government to be in the business of timber production and forest management. It's time for the government to step back and allow those who are most involved with England's woodlands to play a much greater role in their future
from 27 January 2011, government-england=forest-sell-off)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
This decision provoked a cross-party outcry (from 17 february forest-sell-off-people-power) http://www.guardian.co.uk/... )
In under three months the sell-off had united organisations and individuals across the political divide who were concerned by loss of public access, the threat of development and damage to wildlife.
Groups as diverse as the Socialist Workers party, the Greens, the forestry industry, horse riders and mountaineers have all rejected the idea outright, mostly fearing that the safeguards for access and wildlife would not be adequate.
More than 100 celebrities, including the archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Judi Dench, Ken Livingstone, Richard E Grant and Dame Vivienne Westwood, signed a letter opposing the sale.
from Guardian 16/02/11, forest-sell-off-uturn)
from http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
and led to a reversal of policy during prime minster's question time on wednesday and the official apology from Spelman on Thursday:
Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, has issued an unequivocal apology to the House of Commons after taking personal responsibility for the "wrong" decision to change the ownership of 258,000 hectares of state-owned woodland.
The environment secretary used her statement to announce three steps:
• The consultation on selling off forests will be shelved. "I have taken a decision to end the consultation on the future of the public forest estate and I take full responsibility for that," Spelman said. "I am doing so because it is quite clear from the early responses to the consultation that the public and many honourable members are not happy with the proposals we set out."
• The government will remove clauses from the public bodies bill that would allow the government to sell off all of England's forests. Under current laws only 15% of forests can be sold.
• An independent panel to consider the future of forestry in England will be established and will report by the autumn. The panel will advise Spelman on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England, on the role of the Forestry Commission and on the role of the Public Forest Estate.
from feb 17, 2011, forest sell off abandoned -sorry-caroline spelman
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
For those in need of a serious insight into the mindset at Westmister, I submit John Crace's Westminster Digested from yesterday:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/... btw, milidee is Ed Miliband ...
Here is the whole thing from Crace, it seems the links are not working for some reason:
Cameron: I'm on a very important mission.
Clegg: What is it, Daddy?
Cameron: I'm going to build a Big Society.
Clegg: That sounds brilliant, Daddy. What is it?
Cameron: I can't say. It's top secret.
Milidee: He means he doesn't know.
Cameron: I jolly well do. I'm totally passionate about the Big Society. We're going to have the Biggest Big Society ever. We're going to sell off every tree in the country . . .
Everyone: That's a terrible idea.
Cameron: And then we're going to change our minds about it. Because the essence of the Big Society is that we're a listening Big Society.
Iain Duncan Smith: And we won't just be listening. We'll be watching you like a fucking hawk to make sure none of you so-called disabled are sponging off the rest of us when you could be out in your wheelchairs picking up litter.
Cameron: Verily, in the Big Society the weak shall cast aside their crutches and rise up and walk. And the great shall bring comfort to the little people . . .
Osborne: By telling them that if they earn £3,000 they can buy a two-week work placement at a hedge fund.
Cameron: And I say unto you that in the Big Society it will be easier for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for anyone under 25 to find a job of any description . . .
Osborne: And getting easier by the day as youth unemployment has just hit record levels.
Cameron: The Lord works in mysterious ways, Ozzy. We had the worst trade figures ever at Christmas because of the snow. And lo! Now the weather is improving they are getting even worse. What thinkest thou, Father Mervyn, Custodian of the Bank of the Big Society?
Mervyn King: There are some, sire, who say the time is right for a futile gesture.
Cameron: What dost thou say?
King: I say that when every action is equally futile, the wise man does nothing.
Osborne: So we might as well do that, too.
Cameron: And out of the ashes of mass unemployment, rampant inflation and huge public sector cuts shall rise up a new Big Society and we shall build a new Jerusalem out of cardboard boxes with a soup kitchen at its heart.
I've been told the links are not working, so I've placed the names of the articles and dates so that you can check them from the guardian, I cannot get the links to work for some reason ... sorry!!