[5] The Public Bodies Bill, introduced to Parliament in October 2010, proposed to amend the Forestry Act 1967 (c. 10), potentially repealing the Forest of Dean exemption.

[10] The reports were confirmed in late October, when the Minister for Agriculture and Food, James Paice MP, wrote to MPs[11] to explain the government's reasons for including powers to modernise forestry legislation in the Public Bodies Bill,[12] which had recently been introduced to Parliament.

[13] The same newspaper also quoted Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party, as saying it was an "unforgivable act of environmental vandalism".

The member of Parliament for the Forest of Dean, Mark Harper, defended the proposals, describing them as an 'exciting opportunity for community ownership'.

[16] However, the proposals were widely criticised by residents within his constituency,[17][18] by the local press[19] and by politicians with connections to the Forest of Dean, most notably Baroness Royall, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords.

[27] The campaign celebrated a partial victory on 17 February 2011 when, speaking in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Caroline Spelman, told MPs the government had "got this one wrong".

[62] The protest singer, Billy Bragg, gave permission for his British adaptation of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land to be used in the campaign, and is included on a HOOF benefit CD called HANDS OFF,[63] which also features new protest songs directly inspired by the campaign by musicians who performed at the 3 January rally.

In addition, Tom Cousins has voluntarily painted a range of large wall murals on the gable ends of Forest of Dean residents' homes and offices.