The government has been weak over forests

A very dangerous precedent has been established today over the forest fiasco. Caroline Spelman earlier gave the most extraordinary interview on Radio 4’s PM. “We got it wrong,” she said in the Commons. “How so?” asked Eddie Mair. She wouldn’t say. As he kept asking her, it became increasing clear that she didn’t think they got it wrong. They conducted the U-Turn because they were losing the media war.
 
Really? Is that all it takes to defeat Cameron’s government? A decent two-week campaign with a couple of celebs? The forest policy was a good one: why do we need state-run timber farms? Not that this argument was ever aired. They government just sat mute, and was beaten up by Rachel Johnson and her brilliantly mischievous campaign. It wouldn’t surprise me if she did this just for a laugh – to prove that she could. The Sunday Telegraph was her media partner in this.