OUR M.P is elected us by us primarily to represent local

opinions as our champion at parliamentary level.

The sell off is a local issue attracting large scale

opposition. The defecit is a national issue. The woodlands

sell off is hugely significant to the local environment and

irrelevant to the defecit issue.

The Forestry Commission is responsible for

managing huge areas of the natural environment of Britain

which are absolutely crucial to tourism, which is a major

revenue raising industry and massively important to the

economy.

Mr Harper seems to be in blatant contradiction of

what his role as M.P actually is! Should he be commuting

to Westminster to meekly do the Minister's bidding, or

should he be giving his constituents a voice in advance of

decisions quite acceptable to local opinion?

Mr Harper's soothing reassurances about public

access are obviously dubious. How can he guarantee this

when land passes to private management? And likewise,

exploitation in private hands; investors will be buying our

woodlands to exploit the money-making potential and

not to run a public amenity.

It should be obvious that big investors will only buy

if they see an opportunity to 'make a fast buck' and to hell

with the public, the wildlife and everything else.

Good forest folk, this is your land, your home and

has been for generations; our very histories are tied up

this sacred environment. Don't let Mr Harper bring the

asset strippers in to turn, heritage, history and heartland

into a 'fast buck' in their back pockets! Fight it as our

forefathers did when faced with iniquitous government

action.

Mr Harper will move on as promotion up the

ministerial ladder beckons and the Forest sell off will be

nothing more than a policy initiative he craftily 'sold' to a

naive electorate.

– Darrell Lawrence, Lancaster Drive, Lydney.