UK Parliament / Open data

Police reform and social responsibility Bill

No, I do not accept what the Opposition have constantly been saying, which is that the overall cost of this reform is over £100 million. That is based on a figure that the Association of Police Authorities has been using, where it appears that it has been counting two elections into the cost. I go back to the point that I have made: the only additional, ongoing cost in relation to this reform is the cost of holding elections. It is a very bad argument to suggest that a democratic reform should not go ahead simply because elections will cost money, and it is not an argument that Labour Members were willing to use in the past when they supported all sorts of proposals for elections, including in relation to the Mayor of London. I now give way to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), who has been very patient.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
532 c785 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Back to top