A most disappointing letter from Bob Rodes of the Green Party.

Just when the main political parties are determined to turn the Forest into housing estates to give the false impression that the economy is improving and to please their supermarket owning buddies; Just as fly tipping in the Forest is massively increasing as a predictable result of charges put on waste facilities by our rubbish man at the council (how aptly named some people are), we get a lecture from Bob on globalised capitalism.

Global capitalism will sink or swim whatever Bob says or does, especially if Bob has no political power whatever. Political power starts by winning a local election and that only comes by thinking local thoughts and being relevant to local people. The fact that China is buying up the rice fields of Africa so that the Chinese can eat and the Africans can't, is not the first thought on my mind as I lob a ball down the skittle alley.   

Like most if not all of the politicians purporting to represent the Forest of Dean, Bob needs to first look up the word 'forest' in a dictionary and see if it mentions capitalism, housing, supermarkets etc.

On green issues, if he wants to save the rain forests, start with this one. Yes the Forest of Dean is a temperate rain forest. It's not just the tropical ones that need saving from greedy developers and their friends. Forget your new Jerusalem  Bob. Get real, get local.

– Larry F Still, Soudley.