Clause 26
Commons Bill [Lords]
5:15 pm
David Maclean (Penrith and The Border, Conservative)
I support my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire, who made a valid point. No point of Conservative party philosophy is involved in the amendment; there should be no political divide between us. I knew nothing about this issue until I got a brief from the Federation of Cumbria Commoners. As the hon. Member for Workington (Tony Cunningham), the Whip, will tell the Minister, the Federation of Cumbria Commoners is not a big Conservative landowning interest with an axe to grind, but represents hundreds of small farmers and commoners on the fells in both our constituencies, who are saying that this provision will simply cause confusion. They generally like what the Government are trying to do in the Bill and can understand the concept of a statutory association. They are saying, “We may continue with our voluntary associations, but we might move to statutory ones if there is money in it for us; and the Minister has all the money to go with the powers that we will have”—although that is a different debate.
The Cumbria commoners are saying that there will be total confusion if the associations are called the same thing. Irrespective of the legitimacy of the new council or statutory association, the Cumbria commoners are saying, “We’re small farmers, not lawyers or experts, and when we hear of a commoners association, we assume it is the current thing that we have and understand. If the Government are going to create a new body, please, for goodness’ sake, irrespective of the powers they give it, just call it something different.” The commoners have suggested the word “council”, which is not set in stone—perhaps it could be an authority, or some other words could be used—but they want something different from commoners associations, which is the current model that they all understand, have had for many years and are happy with. The Government are creating something new and they should call the statutory body something different, so that we can tell the dog from the rabbit, as they might say in Cumbria.