Clause 2
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
11:30 am
Phil Woolas (Minister of State (Local Government & Community Cohesion), Department for Communities and Local Government; Oldham East and Saddleworth, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman is at least consistent. I did not say only that it was right to criticise the Conservative Front Bench; I said that it was good fun as well, and the hon. Gentleman will see that there is consistency in my argument too. The hon. Gentleman criticised the Government in relation to the north-east assembly referendum, but I recall that the Deputy Prime Minister accepted the result of that referendum, despite the Government’s known preference, so I do not see how we can be accused of inconsistency.
The Banham review created local authorities without consultative processes, and was again a top-down exercise, rather than a bottom-up one as proposed in the Bill. The former Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Heseltine, admitted in the “Local Government Chronicle” last summer that the eventual decisions on boundary reorganisation were taken after he had hired a helicopter to fly around England with some ordnance survey maps to point out where the boundaries might be. The right hon. Gentleman was admired for his cavalier attitude in many respects, but in my constituency the ancient boundaries of Yorkshire and Lancashire are still contested today, which is why I live at County End.