Clause 53 - Power of veto
Local Government Bill
11:15 am
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold, Conservative)
My hon. Friend makes a very good point. That is precisely the purpose of the amendments. If our amendments were to be carried, thus providing democratic legitimacy of the ballot, and more than 25 per cent. were to vote in favour of the proposal, many local people would be very aggrieved if, having gone to all the expense and trouble, the local authority then came along and vetoed the ballot. That is why I want to know under which circumstances the nuclear option will be used. I hope that I have answered my hon. Friend's point.
There are other matters on which I wish to question the Minister. The hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton said in a contribution some time ago that only ratepayers should be on the list for the ballot—I believe that that is what he said. However, there are many exceptions to that rule. For example, certain public bodies do not pay rates.