Forestry (England)
Debate between Caroline Spelman and Gerald Kaufman(13 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Spelman
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As part of restoring trust in politics, it is important that the electorate see that the Government will listen. It is also very important in our new politics to be transparent, and I agree that had the previous Government consulted and been transparent about the terms and conditions of the sale of the public forest estate, it might have greatly helped the understanding of this issue.
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
Is not this humiliating climbdown—[Hon. Members: “Oh!”] Oh yes, you all voted for it; every one of you. Is not this humiliating climbdown a tribute to the anger of huge numbers of people, including large numbers of my own constituents, who said they would not have this? Is it not deplorable that the right hon. Lady has been made to stand in the corner with a dunce’s cap on her head by a Cabinet that two weeks ago drummed the whole lot of them on the Government Benches—Liberal Democrats and Tories—to vote for the opposite of what she is saying now?
Mrs Spelman
It is only humiliating if we are afraid to say sorry, and one of the things we teach our children is to be honest. It is not a question of humiliation; it is my choice.