Clause 52 - Approval in ballot
Local Government Bill
11:00 am
Mr David Curry (Skipton and Ripon, Conservative)
I wish to add that, presumably, if a ballot is to be open for a period of days, it will become known during that time how many people have voted. If it appears that the BID is not going to have the
requisite number of voters, there will be plenty of opportunities for its advocates to do some canvassing. If that canvassing still does not generate a reasonable turnout, there must be some presumption about the quality of the BID. There is therefore much sense in having a lower threshold to safeguard against poor-quality BIDs. Surely it is inherent—[Interruption.] It is a long time since I was passed a note in the middle of speaking. I must say that it is very flattering. It creates the same problems as some of the notes that I used to be passed—I cannot read this one either.
The mechanism allows that opportunity. Therefore, the amendment of my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold is not a nuclear weapon. Because of the nature of the ballot, it is possible to know of any failing. If the advocates cannot get the vote out, they do not deserve to win it. We are arguing about something that need not be a major point of contention.
The word ''legitimacy'' has been used a great deal today. This has been a week for legitimacy. The Minister for Local Government and the Regions and I were in the same Lobby during the vote on another place, and the word ''legitimacy'' was used constantly. Legitimacy is what anybody accepts as legitimacy. Legitimacy is like money. If we agree that the plastic cups in the Room will be used as money, they become money. Whatever we agree is valid. It is divisible. We should not endow the word with too much religious sanctimoniousness, but it helps if people think that the thing is credible and will work. If things can fall on their face and people then squabble and say, ''That didn't get much of a vote; we should have known at the time,'' that will bring the process into disrepute.
I hope that we will look at this intelligently and that the Minister's career does not suffer terribly from his errings on Tuesday—errings in the right direction of course, but with this Government one must be cautious about that. I am not sure what the Under-Secretary did on that occasion.