§ 36. Mr. CohenTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will establish a Grand Committee for London. [17789]
§ Mr. NewtonI have no plans to do so.
§ Mr. CohenWhy have the Tories brought nothing but decline to London? They abolished the Greater London council and will not allow Londoners to have any strategic say in their own affairs. Consequently, traffic chokes up the capital; the health service and public transport have been run down; and there is large-scale homelessness, crime and unemployment. It has also damaged London's prosperity and prospects. As Labour will establish a new democratic authority for London and raise London's status, is it any wonder that discerning Londoners are turning in droves to Labour?
§ Mr. NewtonAccording to my information, London already has 84 Members of Parliament, more than 2,000 19 councillors, if we include the Corporation of the City of London, and 10 Members of the European Parliament. I have seen no evidence that Londoners want to pay for yet another level of expensive bureaucracy. Far from the picture painted by the hon. Gentleman, one reads almost daily in newspapers of London's reputation abroad and of the number of people brought here by that reputation.
§ Mr. DykesObviously every capital city needs some type of collective system of government for the entire capital territory. Which system does my right hon. Friend personally prefer?
§ Mr. NewtonI personally prefer the position which the Government have adopted whereby there is, for example, a designated Minister for Transport in London, who was in the House only a short time ago, and whereby my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, as Minister for London, co-ordinates a Cabinet sub-committee for that purpose.