Yesterday a Tory peer who shall forever after be known as Lord Howeller had the audacity to describe the North East of England as desolate. Further and as a consequence he claimed that it is ideally suited for fracking, the controversial method of natural gas extraction. Those of us who live in this unspoiled area of the country with its three National Parks and areas of outstanding beauty could hardly believe what he had said. Suffice to say thelocal newspapers have had a field day at his expense dismissing the comments as those of an ignorant Southerner. Desolate is defined as meaning bleak and dismal emptiness or else: forlorn; lonely; solitary; deserted; devastated. It is an adjective that could be better applied to many of those experiencing the trauma of marriage break-up. Does the Honourable Lord believe that such people too should be kicked when they are desolate, rather than helped and supported? Perhaps he supports the recent changes in our legal aid system, depriving large numbers of people living in the North East (as well as elsewhere) from representation by and access to lawyers when going through divorce. Sadly the attitude fits so many of those in high office at the present time.
