Greater London Authority Bill

Indeed. If we are to increase participation and interest in local government, particularly among the young, we must make people feel that their views matter, and that when they have spoken, local politicians will act upon their suggestions and in their interest. My concern is that the more power we take away from the boroughs and give to the centre, the less participation, interest and involvement there will be. The Government say they intend to devolve power from the centre to the Mayor, but they are proposing to take powers from the boroughs and give it to the Mayor. Who will lose under the Government’s proposals? With the new powers in the Bill, the people of Bexley will lose, Bexley council and other councils will lose, and London will be disadvantaged as power moves to the centre. Grave concern has been expressed from all parts of the House about housing and planning issues. There is great worry in our area that the new powers being given to the Mayor of London will allow him to overrule planning decisions, or direct decisions of strategic importance, against the wishes of the local planning committee and local people. We have had an example of that with the proposal to build the Thames Gateway bridge in our area, which the Mayor of London is very keen on. Locally, we are worried about environmental problems, transport and traffic through the borough, the emissions that that will cause, and so on. All political parties locally, community groups and residents groups have campaigned against the bridge. We have had a public inquiry, and I understand that the inspector’s report is on the Minister’s desk, awaiting a decision. Through Bexley council and the public inquiry, people had the opportunity to raise their concerns. Ultimately, the strategic decision will be taken by the Government. We hope the Government will reject the proposal, which I passionately oppose. If the Bill is on the statute book, the Mayor will in future make such strategic decisions and we will have no say at all. We will have nobody to whom to appeal or put local views. That is a great worry to me, and to the majority of people who live in our area. The hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) spoke about waste and recycling. I was disappointed by his partisan contribution. He did not mention that Bexley is the best performing London borough for recycling. In the past year we received a second beacon council award for waste management. I accept that his point of view—