Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

You must have been to Upton Park on one of our bad days, too, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and experienced similar confusion. I urge a note of caution with regard to London. I understand the devolutionary sentiment behind the comments of the hon. Member for Wigan, but one should balance that with the point made by the Minister, whose thinking I commend in this respect. Experience in the Greater London authority has shown the value of fitting elections into the cycle. The metropolitan districts are different because there is, in effect, a top-tier authority in the form of the GLA. A system that allows for some gap between the two tiers is generally well regarded in London.