Greater London Authority Bill

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. He has referred to the Government office for London, which is another example of where more devolution could have happened, but has not. As my hon. Friend the Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey said, those two issues will not go away. I am afraid that they outweigh the more positive devolutionary aspects of the Bill and will determine how we vote tonight. We believe that the planning proposals are a Trojan horse that will give the Mayor scope to indulge in his most interventionist fantasies, and he will not be able to resist the temptation to put his finger into every sizeable planning pie. We cannot therefore support the Bill on Third Reading and hope that common sense will prevail in another place.