My Lords, I thank all those who have participated in the debate on the amendment, not least the Minister for her characteristically full and sensitive reply. In our deliberations today, she has drawn the attention of the House on more than one occasion to meetings with the English National Park Authority Association and has sought to reassure the House that its concerns have been met. Of course, the ENPAA is firmly on record that it would like the clause removed. Therefore, the Minister has not met that particular concern. To her credit, she has not attempted to claim that.
This has been an important debate because, listening carefully to the Minister and to the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin of Roding, with his tremendous commitment
to the economic success of the British economy and the contribution by an efficient energy sector to that success, it has become clear to me what I have always worried about. In this game, we can have all the reassurances and all the arrangements that we like as to what ideally should happen, but it must be firmly understood that going ahead with projects, in the end, prevails. That is where I get off the bus. I take second place to nobody in wanting a strong economy, not as an end in itself but in the interests and for the well-being of the British people. I am convinced that the parks, the areas of outstanding natural beauty and, indeed, much of our countryside make an unrivalled contribution to the well-being of the British people. I do not want to fudge this. There will be moments when the interests of that wider well-being—measured not just in cash terms, in financial terms, but in the richer enjoyment of life and the fulfilment of potential—will need to take precedence if we want a civilised society in which to live. That is the whole point. The Government do not share that view because they believe that in the end the financial considerations of the economy and the rest must at all costs take precedence. That is probably why I am on this side of the House and the noble Baroness is on that side of the House. That is an honest position. I do not take a totally materialist view of the well-being of the nation.
I have listened to the arguments put by the Minister and others. I have also, because I have been here a long time now, listened to the atmosphere conveyed by words—if you can listen to an atmosphere; I think that noble Lords will know what I mean—and at this stage I have to say that I see a lawyers’ paradise ahead and some very tough battles ahead for those who share my perception of what our civilisation and society should be. Just at this moment, we will have to make good with the assurances that the Minister has given. I genuinely hope—I am not being in any way sarcastic—that she will go to her grave, a long time hence, convinced that all she said is being fulfilled in the spirit and not just the detail. I hope that one day she will come to share my view of what is the well-being of the British people and what hard decisions may be necessary in that context. However, at this stage, I seek leave to withdraw the amendment.