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Business of the House

May I draw the attention of my right hon. and learned Friend to my early-day motion 259 on the east coast main line franchise? [That this House notes with concern the timetable the Government has set for the refranchising of East Coast main line services; and calls on the Government to maintain the East Coast main line in public ownership so that the quality, effectiveness and competitiveness of public ownership can be fully demonstrated.] May we have an early debate on the subject so that we can get a better understanding of why the Government remain wedded to the idiotic and fanciful privatisation of the railways bequeathed to us by the Conservative party? Many of us hoped that the east coast main line could be a public service comparator, so that we can judge other companies.