With the leave of the House, let me say what a pleasure it has been to speak in a debate in which everyone is on the same side—it is a refreshing change. It is not usual and the Minister must not think it will be the future of our confrontations. Let me thank so many Members for coming in this morning and taking part in the debate. All of them have given a slightly different perspective on why building societies are so important, and I want to refer to just a few of the points raised. I certainly did not expect this morning’s debate to contain so much political history, be it on civic Conservatism or Labour history. However, I have to inform the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) that the clause IV to which I referred was clause IV of the new Labour party, under the leadership of the former right hon. Member for Sedgefield, which was introduced in 1995—a very different clause IV from the old one.
I also want to thank the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk for raising the issues of rural communities and villages. I come from a beautiful village called Whitburn, in the constituency of my hon. Friend and neighbour the Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck), so I completely understand the way in which villages rely on the services of local shops and businesses. The hon. Member may not be surprised to learn that the more deprived parts of the country, most of which are in my constituency, face many of the same issues as rural communities.
I must also mention the contribution of the hon. Member for Dover (Mrs Elphicke), who has so much experience in this context. In fact, I first met her when she was doing her work in building societies. She has done a huge amount of work and probably understands the Bill better than anyone in the House, including me—this has been a sharp learning curve. It was nice that she quoted Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister. As we have been presented with such an
array of political history today, I should add that Monday will be the 100th anniversary of the first Labour Government.
As I said in my opening speech, this Bill is simple, straightforward and modernising. These are little measures that can make a massive difference, and I hope that when we discuss housing in the future, we can refer back to the difference they will make in freeing up more money and modernising the system to enable more people, particularly first-time buyers, to get on to the housing ladder.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill accordingly read a Second time; to stand committed to a Public Bill Committee (Standing Order No. 63).