Borough Freedom (Family Succession) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I have listened to the noble Lord, Lord Graham of Edmonton, on this subject before. It was a pleasure to hear his story related once again. I am bound to say that I wish him third time lucky. People identify strongly with their community. In this modern era when everybody moves everywhere, it is still a joy to find families who have a very strong allegiance to their town of origin and who wish to maintain their particular association with it. When one goes to America, one notices how immensely fond are Americans of their origins in this country if they can prove them. So it is right that we too should be proud of our origins in our communities. Will the noble Lord, Lord Graham of Edmonton, explain in a little more detail why London is excluded? I think that I have the reasons in my head, but it would be helpful if he could clarify that point. This is a small Bill. It was a pleasure to hear the noble Lord advocating the hereditary principle. The hereditary principle through the female line certainly is not a problem as far as I am concerned. We wish this Bill well and we hope that the noble Lord succeeds this time.