§ 15. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of increasing the use of local referendums.
§ Mr. BaldryI have made no assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of increasing the use of local referendums.
§ Mr. PrenticeDoes the Minister appreciate that referendums are commonplace in Europe and are one way of enriching and revitalising public debate? After 15 years 809 of Conservative Government during which local authorities have lost powers, functions and relevance, would not the increased use of local referendums be one way to re-involve people in civic debate?
§ Mr. BaldryThat is absolute twaddle.
§ Sir Anthony DurantWill my hon. Friend not dismiss the idea of referendums too easily? Will he also consider doing away with rate capping so that we can then expose those councils which spend wildly and a referendum can be held at the subsequent local government elections?
§ Mr. BaldryMy hon. Friend makes an interesting point. If it were not for council tax capping, large numbers of Labour authorities would be only too keen to spend council tax payers' money like confetti.