Belt loosening
PITY John Prescott. The deputy prime minister, grandly known as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, is responsible not only for trying to cajole people out of their cars. He also has just run into what may be the most sensitive issue in England: where to build new homes. He has promised a green (consultative) paper before Easter on housing and planning. Already, he is being assailed by environmentalists, house-builders and rural politicians of every hue.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Belt loosening”
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