Clause 20 - Duty to make references in relation to completed mergers
Enterprise Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
You are very kind, Mr. Beard. The hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mr. Purchase) tempted me and we indulged ourselves. We should not have done so–you are quite right.
However, the original point was relevant. Other things being equal, if we, in the course of consideration of the Bill, have a chance of ensuring a merger control regime that is likely to provide pressures and incentives conducive to competition in general and to a greater intensity of competition in the United Kingdom than in other parts of the EU, because of industry's interpretation of other regimes as more lax, we should take it. We should do so notwithstanding some of the difficulties that might ensue in losing control of one of two of the larger mergers to the European Commission, which might want to take control. I think that we should go down that path.