The Glover review is, I repeat, a serious, imaginative and important document. I would suggest that it should be widely and often read and re-read. But it is an inherently conservative view of National Parks and AONBs and their future. When reading a report like this one it is easy to read more into the…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
The Glover review (4) – it’s a culture thing
Whenever I hear the word culture applied to the landscape I reach for my Manchester Rambler rather than my Wordsworth. Talk of cultural landscapes is usually code for ‘landowners know best and always have done’ and an argument against necessary change. And so it seems to me to be here in the Glover review. Natural…
The Glover review (3) – disappointing on wildlife
How can I possibly be disappointed with the Glover review when it gives nature top-billing (depending on how you read the report) and contains many useful passages such as those below? In our call for evidence, the message was clear: more than any other single thing, people and organisations agreed that our landscapes should do…
The Glover review (1) – worth the wait
The much-awaited Glover review into protected landscapes was published on Saturday morning and is a serious, imaginative and important document. The review is well worth a thorough read, and several re-reads (that’s what I have already done) but can be summarised in part by these two paragraphs from its summary; Our country is changing fast….
Zac and Pow!
Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park, 224 signatures in favour of a ban on driven grouse shooting) has been promoted to fill the void left by Therese Coffey. Zac has had one of the quickest ever promotions having come in to Defra as a Parliamentary Under Secretary at the end of July he is a Minister of…
NEWS: Natalie Bennett awarded life peerage in May’s resignation honours list.
Fantastic news!
The environment is still in jeopardy from Brexit
I know people voted both ways in the referendum, obviously. I know people have different views about these things, obviously. But I simply say this: people didn’t vote to lose their jobs, didn’t vote to see our environmental standards, workers’ rights, consumer protections ripped up. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/sep/02/brexit-latest-news-boris-johnson-threatening-to-deselect-tory-rebels-to-provoke-early-election-claims-gauke-live-news Sounds quite sensible to me. Who said it? It…
Look what we’ve done now – revisited
This is a blog I posted soon after the result of the EU referendum in June 2016. I think it stands re-reading. How will it all play out now? I went to bed worried on Thursday night (or was it Friday morning?) having heard the first few referendum results, and woke to be devastated by…
Ministerial responsibilities at Defra
Therese Coffey has had a promotion (and a payrise) but apparently has no responsibilities at all according to the Defra website this morning. Whereas new Parliamentary Under Secretary Zac Goldsmith seems to be doing quite a lot, and in two departments;
Brecon and Radnor by-election
Although political predictions have been very much awry in recent years I think it is almost certain that the Lib Dems will win back the Brecon and Radnorshire seat in tomorrow’s by election. The seat has often been held by the Liberals and looks destined to go back to them this week. Chris Davies the…