Greater London Council (Money) Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 May 1974.

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Photo of Mr Norman Tebbit Mr Norman Tebbit , Waltham Forest Chingford 12:00, 20 May 1974

The hon. Gentleman did not say "on its merits". He made the 100 per cent. cover-all pledge about all such Bills, the nature of which he has not seen, so that he has not been able to judge their merits.

The hon. Gentleman expects us on this side to accept that although we have the right to discuss the Bill we do not have the right to vote on it. Now all of us in the House know to where a great deal of the power is drawn. It is not to Brussels but to somewhere much closer to Westminster. This is taking it a darned sight too far, and the hon. Gentleman knows it. He was carried away, as he often is, by his own exuberance. He could not have meant what he said, namely, that, regardless of merit any Conservative-controlled council's Bill which comes before the House would be opposed if we vote against this Bill. I am sure that he could not have meant that.

I turn to the main point which my hon. Friends are proposing. It is to prevent the excessive use of public money competing against the home buyer in purchasing properties. [Interruption.] The matter has been established this evening by the way the hon. Member nodded wisely when the hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Mayhew) spoke; he spent only two or three minutes with us, flitting in and out. He made the suggestion that it was to save Mr. Stern from bankruptcy. I am damned if I want to save Mr. Stern from bankruptcy. If he cannot sell property to anybody, let him pull down the price. What is the sudden compassion of Labour Members for Mr. Stern?

Let us have more compassion for my constituents who want to become home owners and who see houses up for sale which the builder cannot sell because he paid too much for the land a couple of years ago. Well and good, let him bring his price down, even if he loses money. He will not do that while there is a bottomless purse over the river, a purse which appears in the form of a gentleman from County Hall and who bids the price up again. Constituents of mine have been negotiating to purchase a house and ran into trouble getting a mortgage. They went to see how much money they could raise but then in stepped the local authority with the cheque book. The cheque is written out and away they go—