Greater London Authority Bill

Well, some of us thought that at the time, but, unfortunately, if the liqueurs had been resold, the market would have crashed, so it was a sensible measure in that respect. A few years later, that incineration plant is clean, does not produce any smells and does a first-class job of producing feedstock for the cement industry. I say no more than that about incineration, but my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) mentioned what is happening in Rainham. We also heard from the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes). If I continue with the list of examples that have been given, I will be here for a long time. There is a ferment of science and technology going on in the area of waste disposal and we should be in the business of ensuring that that continues. I am a great supporter of anaerobic digestion. Nobody has yet mentioned that particular waste disposal system, but it is moving into large-scale production on the continent and there is no reason why we should not be looking to use it to deal with more of London’s waste. While that ferment of scientific progress is going on, we should not impose a monolithic, one-size-fits-all system, which would stop innovation and all the bright ideas that are flowing forth. I sympathise with what the hon. Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck) is trying to achieve. We all want to achieve much better results from the London boroughs. However, along with many others in the House, I am not convinced that the system that she recommends will deal with the issue. We believe that costs can be taken out by local authorities clustering together to share the costs of waste disposal and that having more organisations involved in developing waste disposal systems is good for us. The hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) refrained from his usual Friday contribution, but he did list the wide variety of organisations in London that jaw-jaw, not war-war. Perhaps the benefit of that is that they share best practice and move the waste disposal debate on, rather than inhibiting it. I know that we have a large number of issues still to address, so I will conclude with these few words. I regretfully say to the hon. Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North that I hope that she withdraws the new clause. It is a debate that has been worth having and that we should continue to have, but the feeling of the House is perhaps not on her side this evening.