THOSE who watched the wind farm debate in the Commons on Wednesday will not be surprised by the reaction of the MP who called it. He described the government’s response by junior minister Ed Vaizey as “risible.” Others might not have been so charitable.

Not surprisingly, Mr Vaizey, who admitted he didn’t know the full details of the issue, wasn’t able to offer any satisfactory answers to numerous questions put by Conor Burns, who now intends to go higher up the ministerial food chain. It might help counter the impression that the government isn’t much concerned about the matter.