New Clause 3
Greater London Authority Bill
4:15 pm
Greg Hands (Hammersmith and Fulham, Conservative)
I am glad that the hon. Gentleman gave the example of the United States President. I have an interesting parallel. One of the reasons why I am opposed to the new clause is that, when the constitution of the United States was amended to introduce term limits for the post of President, it was after the person in question, Franklin Roosevelt, had departed from office. One of the problems with the argument about term limits is that if an incumbent had already done more than two terms, the debate would inevitably be about that incumbent rather than the merits of the constitutional change. The hon. Gentleman’s new clause would actually disfranchise the electorate; they would not be able to vote out of office the current incumbent, which I am very much looking forward to happening in 2008.