Gordon Brown may give thumbs up to destroy green belt
Prime Minister Brown is on course for a clash with environmentalists over housing legislation that could destroy the green belt. Mr. Brown is expected to publish bills which will make way for building new homes, but Hazel Blears admitted that the building could see the end to the current green belt. The statement was later contradicted by Gordon Brown's official spokesman. The Prime Minister will publish a list of bills to be included in the Queen's Speech this autumn, breaking with the tradition that its contents are supposedly kept secret until the formal State Opening of Parliament. Housing is expected to be top of the list.
[via Sky News http://news.sky.com/skynews/home]
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Communities & Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears warned of a fight, saying: "I think we are going to have a tussle, if you like, because some people are concerned about environmental issues."
“Some people” is surely the biggest eco-understatement made in recent history. It’s unsurprising downplay from Blears after admitting that the Government will not offer "categoric assurances" that the existing green belt would survive.
In a great example of a totally uninformative statement, Mr Brown's spokesman said:
"The Prime Minister made clear that the over-arching theme of the statement ... would be how the Government responds to the rising aspirations of people by providing better opportunities for the future.”
He added that the Prime Minister "is not proposing any changes to the robust terms" of the current green belt land provision.
usa
Posted by: tony lydon | October 5, 2007 9:24 AM