Banking Bill

I understand that the hon. Gentleman takes a very close interest in how Parliament works, its traditions and the way in which its powers are exercised, and I also take that seriously. I would not want to be supporting a blunderbuss clause that just gives the Government the power to do anything they want if they decide that that is the right thing to do. That is why we have spent a lot of time ensuring we get the limitations imposed on clause 72 right. I believe this is now appropriate, and I hope I explained in Committee why that is the case. I also hope that the assurances I have given, particularly on the safeguards in both primary and secondary legislation, will give further reassurance to those outside stakeholders who are very interested in this part of the Bill.