Clause 42
Greater London Authority Bill
2:00 pm
Michael Gove (Shadow Minister (Housing), Communities and Local Government; Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and pleased to add to his convenience in carrying on the voluminous correspondence with his constituents, which is facilitated by the House of Commons grant of an additional £10,000 to all hon. Members enabling them to maintain that close and intimate relationship. I shall not be labouring points about Fidel Castro, Che Guevara or Hugo Chavez at this point, but a new clause later on will give me an opportunity to return specifically to that topic. That is not because the history of Latin American revolution is close to my heart—although it is—but because it is particularly close to the Mayor’s heart and he indulges that passion at the expense of London’s council tax payers. We want to safeguard them, rather than safeguarding some 1968 image of the revolution. We will have an opportunity to return to that matter when dealing with that new clause.