A DEVELOPMENT TOO FAR? Stuart Millson looks at the many threats to our greenbelt and countryside. Party of the nation? NEW TOWNS, mass-development, ment and local councils listening to Kingdom – in particular into the cit- urban sprawl, the erosion of the serious objections, the greenbelt did ies of England. As the Tory top brass expresses its embarrassment at being greenbelt, farmland sold off to at least have some chance of survival. ‘Punished and anonymous British, Peter Gibbs offers a glimpse into the heart of a party housebuilders – this is Tony Blair’s But today, the Government is intent which has cast aside its national inheritance. legacy to the environment. upon diluting these vital channels and landscapes’ As cities become Since New Labour came to power procedures. The impending creation more crowded, less cohesive and more prone to social problems, so the flight Oh Rose, thou art sick! in 1997, we have witnessed a massive of regional assemblies for England The invisible worm shift away from planning controls and from urban areas grows. People – (areas which, incidentally, bear a cu- That flies in the night, countryside preservation in favour of rious resemblance to an EU scheme quite understandably – want to move in the howling storm Barratt-type housing, major road to break us down into little local away from drifting gangs of youths, schemes and a “blank cheque” for the statelets) will dissolve the existing decaying public transport and the Has found out thy bed suburban superstores. Yet it might be consultation procedures at a stroke. seemingly unstoppable crime rate, and Of crimson joy. so they make for the hard-pressed worth remembering that this merci- Instead, the regional bodies (so far And with his dark secret love, greenbelt. The cities, meanwhile, less and unthinking process of devel- completely unelected) will respond to does thy life destroy. opment actually began a year earlier a Whitehall “strategic plan” for hous- gradually become grim, run-down and – under the supposedly pro-greenbelt, ing, and will implement it accordingly. totally denatured, and quite unable to - William Blake regenerate themselves – the very im- “middle England” Tories. We can only wonder how the anti-con- ON SATURDAY 25th October, right-wing Tory MP Andrew Rosindell urbation protest groups in Glouces- pulse needed to attract people back. A Major mistake John Major was speaking to Conservative Party members in Beckenham, Kent. tershire would fare today. The writer and conservationist David fired the starting gun in the race to Lovibond had the measure of it a dec- Mr. Rosindell expressed his concern that the Union Jack was no pour concrete over the greenbelt and Unthinking developement ade or so ago when he described “the longer displayed at Tory Party conferences, and that the patriotic countryside when he announced that In its West Midlands heartland, the punished, anonymous landscapes of songs, such as the evergreen Land of Hope and Glory which once 4 million new houses would have to Freedom Party has been active in op- our inner cities”, and the grave threat concluded this event, were banned. The MP also informed his be built between 1996 and 2014. The posing unthinking development. Natu- which major demographic change audience that the Tories’ selection process for candidates has developers were already well en- rally, most people accept the need for posed to our remaining countryside substantially changed. Amazingly, a PPC is no longer asked for his sconced within Whitehall and various some new housing, but how much of and greenbelt. or her opinions. Instead, they are submitted to a range of psychological local authorities, yet there seemed to this is a response to real, organic Today, New Labour’s policy on tests. This probably explains a lot. be plenty of opportunity for local con- change and actual need? In the population change, “in-migration” (i.e. At the time of the IDS confidence vote, it seemed that the top servation groups and individuals to Wormbourne district, the social engi- the movement of people from one part challenge the housebuilding jugger- neers have been at work, trying to of the country, or area, to another) brass were falling over themselves to appeal to Guardian-thinking. naut. For example, back in the 1990s push the overspill from Wolverhamp- and immigration is exposed for all to Not content with alienating their grassroots supporters under Duncan there was a perfectly serious plan un- ton into a suburban and village envi- see. Mr. Blunkett seems to operate on Smith, Michael Howard turned up the pressure in the Tory war to der consideration to link the city of ronment – often with disastrous con- the principle that nine people can be purge the party of its Britishness. Howard proclaimed: “I am the son Gloucester and the town of Chelten- sequences. easily and happily squeezed into a of immigrants, and my Euroscepticism does not mean that we will ham in one huge conurbation. Since The provision of “social housing”, Mini! As we all know, this does not – be harking back to some bygone golden age.” Meanwhile, Euro- the 1960s and 70s, Gloucester had once a noble ideal, has now become and can never – work. The time has federalist Kenneth Clarke (known to many as “Fed Ken”) warned already been gradually expanded by associated with the importation of come for a radical rethink of our Michael Howard on the 30th October that the language of “Little the building of large estates. The idea social problems – with policy being whole approach to these issues. England” (i.e. basic, honest, everyday patriotism) should be avoided was to maintain the momentum in the fuelled by the objectives of the Social Unless we can halt the process of at all costs in any Eurosceptic pronouncements. direction of Regency Cheltenham. Services departments, rather than the mass-development, make our cities The much-respected Campaign to needs and feelings of local people. habitable for civilised people once Protect Rural England (CPRE) was And few can continue to ignore what again, and achieve “zero immigra- Rose of England withers involved in the battle to prevent the must now be the biggest cause of the tion” within five years, we may have All this seems so far removed from the days even of Margaret hybrid “new city”, and the plan was housebuilding/urbanisation process: to say “farewell” to the old image of Thatcher. This newspaper has little time for the Tory Party hierarchy eventually abandoned. Thanks to the unrestricted and unmanaged large- England’s green and pleasant land. as it is, but we ought to remember how the party once felt. At one ideals of local planning, local involve- scale immigration into the United Conservative conference, Margaret Thatcher appeared with a red rose in her buttonhole. This was at the time when Neil Kinnock’s Labour Opposition used the rose as their campaign emblem. Before Tory MP places News Digest starting on the main part of her speech, the Iron Lady stated: “Ladies ‘market’ above The Freedom Party’s regular round-up of national news items. and gentlemen, I wish to make it clear that the red rose I am wearing countryside If it’s English, it ‘Get your hands off is the rose of England!” The cheers were deafening – and many Union Jacks were waved at the end of the address. Today, the roses Buckinghamshire Tory MP, John must be “racist” my house Gordon’ have all withered and died, and the flags are in the black binliners at Bercow, caused eyebrows to be raised London cabbies have been ordered by Not content with scores of stealth the back of Central Office. at last year’s Tory conference. The their licensing authority to remove St. taxes, rumours are now flying that frontbench spokesman claimed that in Even as recently as the 1980s, Tory Central Office proudly sported George’s flags and even Royal British Gordon Brown is to tax us further on British flags in its grand reception area. A Union Jack was surrounded the current debate on greenfield de- Legion poppies. The reason? Such the profits we make from the sale of by English, Welsh, Scottish and Ulster flags – the Tories keen to velopment and housing, market forces symbols might “offend” ethnic mi- our houses. Raising capital gains tax must prevail over the interests of the norities. Recently, Romford Council to something like 40 per cent seems stress that they were still unionist in thinking, despite having signed countryside. However, the fact is that in Essex ordered stallholders to take to be the latest scheme to deprive the the Anglo-Irish Agreement! Up until the 1950s, the party had a the so-called “demand” for housing down Union Jacks in the popular lo- nation’s earners and savers of their badge which consisted of the symbolic flowers of the countries of is often artificially stimulated by de- cal market. After an outcry from lo- modest wealth – to be accompanied, the United Kingdom, and the title: “Conservative and Unionist Party”. velopers who are keen to buy up land cal people and some strong condem- no doubt, by more benefits and wel- Even in the days of the liberal Edward Heath, the party had a large at any cost. The Freedom Party be- nation of the council from patriotic fare for those who haven’t contributed flag on its conference platform, with Ted himself allowing more lieves that local planning is essential Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, the mar- a penny in their lives. As London’s than 20 of his MPs to belong to the anti-immigration Monday Club. and that developers must be account- ket was awash with red, white and blue Evening Standard columnist Allison able for ensuring that their housing Just where has the spirit of patriotism gone, and what has become of – forcing the council to squirm. What Pearson put it on the 22nd October: the “broad church” which was once the Tory Party? blends in with a district’s existing also upset the sour-faced local com- “Apart from the super-rich or sen- character. Sadly, Mr Bercow’s “mar- missars was the fact that Asian ior civil servants and politicians, who Off his trolley! ket forces” pay little attention to qual- stallholders joined in with the defiant seem, mysteriously, to be paid more ity and environmental considerations. flying of the flag! Clearly our national after retirement than when they’re in After their two catastrophic election defeats, the party embarked on No wonder the Tory Party is now symbols do not offend ethnic minori- work, most Britons will rely on cash- a period of desperate soul-searching. Suddenly, Michael Portillo – a dwindling in Middle England! ties – just middle-class white liberals ing in their bricks and mortar to sub- man who had become the high priest of Euroscepticism, invoking And they wonder who claim to speak on their behalf. sidise their kids’ college fees…and all sorts of SAS-related patriotic rhetoric – reappeared as a mild, still have a bit left over for the third socially-concerned apostle of the social services! Michael never why Britain is Brussels cheapest casket at their funeral. If Broadcasting seemed to miss out on an opportunity to push a hospital trolley, or ravaged by crime… Gordon takes our nest-egg away, what appear as a helper to single mothers – a living embodiment you may will become of us? If Gordon Brown Whilst British people labour on in Corporation say of the Tories’ conversion to the politics of being nice, rather thinks he can take all this away – our their daily lives, with the threat and The Euro-federalists and left-wing than “nasty”. fear of crime looming almost con- cushion, our running-away money, our programme makers at the BBC must Then, Duncan Smith (do you remember the “Quiet Man”?) stantly, how reassuring it is to know hope of a comfortable old age – he be laughing behind our backs. Here confounded everyone by announcing on the BBC Radio 2 Jimmy that the police “force” is putting its we are, the ordinary Eurosceptic peo- will make the fuel protest look like a Young show that he disliked the name “Tory Party” because it was back into fighting criminals. Or is it? ple of Britain, paying a compulsory mere sparkler. The middle classes will According to one retired policeman tax to finance their propaganda. Re- take to their over-priced streets…” too old-fashioned – possibly not fitting in with the new, vibrant party (D.F. Hayward of Northampton) cently, the prestigious BBC Richard The Freedom Party is the only of the hospital trolley and the single mum. It was even reported that writing in The Times on the 27th Dimbleby Lecture was hijacked by the party which would halt and reverse one former party Chief Executive (the Tories seem to get through October: Euro side. A prominent French Euro- this Government’s disastrous tax and one Chief Exec every six months) wanted to rebrand his forces as “We should encourage the use of federalist informed the audience that spend policy. Our belief in a genuine “The Enterprise Party”. Quite a good title, perhaps, but a bit difficult the term ‘police service’ rather than “we are building a political union”; property-owning democracy, coupled to square with the tens of thousands of small businesses which John with lower council tax rates, makes ‘police force’… there is also a need that federalism and the Euro-consti- Major wiped out in the run-up to Black Wednesday! us the party of the hardworking Brit- to remove the last vestiges of mili- tution were the only way for Europe. So where does this leave the ordinary British people, bewildered tarism from police training. Drill ish majority. Our policy of disengag- So far, no moves have been made to as they are by Blair’s Euro-federalism and the Tories’ embarrassment sessions, saluting and ceremonial pa- ing from the corrupt EU would auto- invite any anti-EU spokesmen or writ- at being British? Can’t help thinking that the Freedom Party – with rades only encourage a lack of inde- ers to give the lecture. The BBC Char- matically give Britain a spending divi- its proud Britannia logo, its regional English pride, real pendence of thought, and waste time ter expressly commits the Corpora- dend of £1 billion – a substantial sav- that could more usefully be used in tion to political neutrality. We may ing of taxpayers’ money. Euroscepticism, and popular British nationalism – might have an the classroom.” well ask why this impartiality is not answer to that one! ‰ Aren’t our policemen wonderful? being observed. 3