Part of Clause 2 – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 December 1973.
Mr Edward Leadbitter
, Hartlepools, The
12:00,
20 December 1973
I beg to move Amendment No. 14, in page 3, line 14, after 'appropriate', insert
'including a poll of the inhabitants'.
We had a first-class and detailed debate on Clause 1 last night. It is not my intention to prolong the proceedings tonight. We want to make progress and, because of the seasonal situation, I am as anxious as everyone else to accommodate the House. On a matter of great importance involving the alteration of electoral areas and the specifying of numbers of councillors involved in local government reorganisation, why is there no provision for consultation? Will the Minister give an assurance that there will be included a poll of the inhabitants?
The Minister has made great play during the process of the Bill on the ground of new thinking. That new thinking arose out of a poll. We have had our conflict on the preceding poll. We have put that behind us. There is a radical change to the position which we had in Committee on the Local Government Bill arising from an assurance that opinion would be taken into account. Now that we have the Bill which has come about as the result of public opinion, what follows should be pursued in accordance with criteria laid down by the Minister. I hope that the Minister will be able to assure us that he has valid reasons for not including a poll on the matters contained in the clause.
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