Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

There is substantial consensus on the matter. As the Minister rightly said, trying to make a judgment about which is the best system can be inconclusive, to say the least. There are examples of extremely good authorities that are elected by thirds, by halves and by all-out elections. I have always had a preference for all-out elections, because that gives the electorate a manifesto, and a day when it decides who is to run the authority, or perhaps who to kick out, if the council has made a hash of it. From the tone of the debate in Committee, it was clear that the Government, possibly because of a manifesto commitment, wanted to go in a particular direction, whereas we wanted authorities to have the option of going into reverse gear if they so wished. I agree with the Minister’s remarks about the two thirds. Some cross-party co-operation will probably be necessary under the changed electoral arrangements. In some authorities—Wigan might be one of them—that might not make much difference in terms of political party, but for most authorities a two-thirds majority would require some acquiescence by the minority to change the electoral arrangements and to change back. The new clauses seem to be written in a perfectly sensible manner. The Government set out their belief that whole council elections are generally the best route, so they are not giving such councils the opportunity to revert to election by thirds or halves. I accept that. The Government have moved some way to allay the concerns expressed in Committee. It is sensible that the dates are set some way ahead to allow for change. That would allow a political party that wished to campaign on the changed electoral arrangements to put those to the electorate. Broadly speaking, we are happy with the way that the Government are proceeding.