Lord Blunkett’s comments show we are a long way off reconciliation over Sheffield trees row - Yorkshire Post Letters

Lord Blunkett’s recent letter to The Star reveals a tin-ear to the unresolved harms endured by large numbers of citizens during the street tree dispute.

People who were wronged by the outrageous behaviour of City leaders, will feel both vindicated and angered at this early stage in the reconciliation process. Anyone who has engaged with reconciliation knows that it starts with understanding people's anger, not condemning it.

Tree campaigners are not unreasonable reactionaries as Lord Blunkett implies. His comments are both puzzling and damaging to the truth and reconciliation process hoped for by Sir Mark Lowcock. Portraying people who have been harmed as hateful and vengeful helps nobody.

Politicians might be unsurprised by Lord Blunkett’s confrontational words, echoing the ‘bunker mentality’ of Sheffield’s regime throughout the street tree dispute. It is the opposite of conciliation. Solutions would be much more welcome.

Reconciliation will not be a quick and easy process. It will require a sincere dialogue between all parties. Stating that lessons have been learnt is not enough. If we do not truly reflect upon the debacle described in Sir Mark Lowcock’s conclusions, we will learn nothing.

The anger expressed by many tree campaigners in the past few days is provoked by local politicians. The Council’s chief executive has been direct, fulsome and sensible in her response and the commitments she has made, but some political leaders have given the impression that they fail to grasp the scale of outrage and hurt.

Hence the spontaneous adoption of the slogan ‘Sorry, Not Sorry,’ by various groups of tree campaigners. Politicians asserting ‘moral authority’ amid the tatters of theirs and the city’s reputations will not aid the journey to reconciliation.