Clause 36
Greater London Authority Bill
6:15 pm
Michael Gove (Shadow Minister (Housing), Communities and Local Government; Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I can understand why the hon. Gentleman appeals to procedure, when so much significant political cleavage has been made apparent. Conservative Members will certainly go into much greater detail about the Mayor’s plans for a single waste authority and the weaknesses of those plans. It is significant that a Parliamentary Private Secretary to someone who is a Cabinet Minister and a potential leadership challenger has signalled that she considers that the judgment of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is deficient on the central question of waste management. She is on the record as saying that he is wrong. In crude tabloid terms, it is a Government split. There is no other way in which to dress up the matter.