Jemayni
Well-Known Member
Part of an email I received written by Simon Hart, I thought it was quite interesting in a pointless kind of way!
[ QUOTE ]
Gordon Brown and the countryside
I doubt many of us have ever considered Gordon Brown as a champion of the countryside, but in his first leader's speech to the Labour Party Conference on Monday he revealed a hitherto unknown love of all things rural.
He praised the farmers fighting foot and mouth saying that: "Their actions live out our shared understanding that our countryside is more than the space that surrounds, it is the oxygen for our towns and cities". He went on to say that: "in order to be the country we should be, Britain must protect and cherish not just our cities, but our countryside too."
There are plenty of people in the countryside, however, who feel that they have not been 'protected' or 'cherished' over the last ten years when Gordon Brown was Chancellor. As recently as last year the same farmers who he is now praising were suffering huge financial hardship over the Rural Payments Agency fiasco. The Treasury's response was to tell Defra that the massive EU fines that resulted from the Government's incompetence could be paid out of its own budget. A strange way of protecting the countryside.
Our response to Gordon Brown is the same as our response to all politicians - words are fine but we will judge you on your actions. A few sentences in a speech will not start to make up for ten years of neglect, but some positive action might
Simon Hart
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[ QUOTE ]
Gordon Brown and the countryside
I doubt many of us have ever considered Gordon Brown as a champion of the countryside, but in his first leader's speech to the Labour Party Conference on Monday he revealed a hitherto unknown love of all things rural.
He praised the farmers fighting foot and mouth saying that: "Their actions live out our shared understanding that our countryside is more than the space that surrounds, it is the oxygen for our towns and cities". He went on to say that: "in order to be the country we should be, Britain must protect and cherish not just our cities, but our countryside too."
There are plenty of people in the countryside, however, who feel that they have not been 'protected' or 'cherished' over the last ten years when Gordon Brown was Chancellor. As recently as last year the same farmers who he is now praising were suffering huge financial hardship over the Rural Payments Agency fiasco. The Treasury's response was to tell Defra that the massive EU fines that resulted from the Government's incompetence could be paid out of its own budget. A strange way of protecting the countryside.
Our response to Gordon Brown is the same as our response to all politicians - words are fine but we will judge you on your actions. A few sentences in a speech will not start to make up for ten years of neglect, but some positive action might
Simon Hart
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