Very short-sited indeed

The government has surrendered to a repeated flouting of the law by forcing councils to allocate precious land for more sites, rather than speeding up action against existing illegal sites.”

The Conservatives don’t seem to realise that the shortage of sites is the cause of present tensions, and that is what has created problems for Travellers and the settled community.

We should not forget the part Conservative leader Michael Howard and his friends played in creating this problem because it was they who abolished the duty on councils to provide sites in 1994 when the Conservatives were last in power. They now have the cheek to try and manipulate the resulting tensions for electoral ends. The Conservatives appear to have no interest in provision of sites but only enforcement and scoring cheap electoral points.

The Gypsy and Traveller community is greatly worried about the misinformation being stirred up by politicians and some sections of the media, which is generating a climate of intolerance in which the parties are trying to outdo each other in proposing tough new enforcement measures.

The government has already proposed new enforcement measures that many feel are not needed as existing measures are already severe. I believe the provision of more sites is the key answer and welcome the fact that the government is now saying councils must identify land for Travellers to be able to buy and live on.

The Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition has been actively seeking a meeting with Conservative spokespeople since last October to convey these simple facts to them but so far they have failed to meet us. The invitation is still there!

Len Smith, The Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition