Clause 15 - Implementation of recommendations
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill
10:45 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
I suggest to the hon. Gentleman that this is a fudge. He is right, the matter would ultimately come back to Parliament—and, at least for the moment, he is a Member of that Parliament, so perhaps he would tell us how he would vote on the issue. If the turnout for a referendum were 15 per cent., and if just over half of those who voted supported the establishment of a regional assembly, would he feel constrained to vote against the proposal on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence of a mandate?