Control of Office and Industrial Development Bill

Part of Ballot for Notices of Motions – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 14 April 1965.

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Photo of Mr Ronald Brown Mr Ronald Brown , Shoreditch and Finsbury 12:00, 14 April 1965

I intervene only because I think the argument has got a little out of proportion. The hon. Gentleman was trying to suggest that the local authorities are pressing for this Amendment. I can tell him that the local authorities' association in London is not objecting to this Bill. It is in favour of the Bill, and is not pressing that London authorities should be exempted from it. There are 32 London boroughs. They are quite satisfied with the assurances they are receiving from the Government and are not afraid of being put in the ridiculous position of having to run their services but not be able to have their necessary office accommodation.

The hon. Gentleman the Member for Reading (Mr. Peter Emery) says that the people on the ground know best. For five years we in London were trying to apprise his right hon. Friend of what the people of London wanted, but he refused to accept it. This is a late conversion on the other side of the House, suddenly to discover that the people on the ground know best. They said that London reorganisation was fundamentally wrong, costly and unsound, but hon. and right hon. Members opposite refused that view.