Clause 31
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
10:00 am
Andrew Stunell (Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Communities and Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)
Yes, and, at least on that point, I could rely on his evidence.
All these matters are of a piece. It would not be profitable to explain in detail how they all work, but I ask the Government to reconsider the provision. If the Minister wants to gain a reputation for assisting local government to deliver effective and representative government, he ought not to constrain it. In giving authorities the freedom to move to all-out elections, he ought equally to give them the freedom to move the other way if they choose to do so. There are things to be said on both sides; I shall not rehearse all the arguments, but give a few examples. What some regard as decisive change might be regarded by others as catastrophic change. Some have commented on the boom and bust of all-out elections and the remarkable way in which, in the year of all-out elections, council tax rises tend to be so much lower than in the other three years. And so the arguments go on.