I hope that the Minister will not accept what has just been said. We are looking at the history of local government, which I have been involved in for a very long time—since I first sat on the Inner London Education Authority in my twenties, so I know a little about how it operates. I say to my noble friend that we need something entirely new in local government if we are to recover the kind of verve and real local contribution that local government ought to make.
I agree with the noble Lord opposite that both sides can be blamed for a lot on this. Local government pretended that it could replace the Opposition and therefore could have nuclear-free zones, foreign policies and the like. This was countered by a reaction from a Conservative Government who took away local government’s power to raise money through the business rate and the like. Both sides have a lot to answer for as regards the way in which we had that countervailing situation, and it took a long time for people to recover their respect and support for local government.
However, we have recovered our respect for a system that lacks vitality and deserves a great deal more opportunity. Our great cities should have the same kind of powers and the same sort of verve that you find in many continental cities. I do not see that we can do that under the present structure. What is more, all the amendments that come from the Opposition are about the perpetuation of the very systems that have helped to pull down local government and do not give it the sharpness that is necessary if local communities are to be properly represented.
I found the comment about the effect of mayors a bit odd. All I can say is that after a very long period of appalling local government in Bristol, in which all three parties were involved, the elected mayor of Bristol has made a dramatic improvement. He has no history of being a supporter of my party, so I speak entirely independently and objectively on that. Bristol is now extremely lucky in its representation and in the way the mayor can speak for that great city. It had years of destructive labour authorities, followed by the most peculiar system whereby each of the parties took control one by one and none covered itself in glory.
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Therefore, I beg my noble friend to stand up for this radical view. It is not surprising that the Labour Party continues to be conservative with a small “c”, and it is not surprising that people did not vote for directly elected mayors in certain areas. The whole system determined that they would not, because it would have meant that the carefully arranged local power bases would be shaken by individuals who might make a very big difference.
I was opposed to having a mayor of London. I was wrong. London is much the better for having a mayor, but it is not comfortable and this is not meant to be comfortable. These amendments are designed to avoid what will be an uncomfortable change, but it is a change that could give local authorities the same kind of standing that they have elsewhere and the same kind of standing that they once had.
It is worth taking what for the party opposite is a risk. If we go down the route followed by that party we will never get there at all. We will go on fiddling about with the system. We will not make the changes necessary and the people of Britain will continue to live in one of the most centralised societies in western Europe. I do not think that is right. I believe in devolution, but devolution needs people to lead, and that is why this amendment should be opposed.