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Democracy: POWER Inquiry

My Lords, I congratulate the members of the Power inquiry commission, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws. She and I have known each other for many years. Her energy, enthusiasm, integrity and ability mean that she will have thrown herself fully into this work, and absolutely every member of this commission will have been at it from beginning to end. We must also thank the noble Lord, Lord Shutt, as one of the trustees of the Rowntree trust, for his enthusiasm in making sure that this work has taken place. We think that this report is a welcome addition to the literature on an important topic and I hope that it will encourage further interest and discussion. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, for giving us the opportunity to debate the report. It has obviously been an unalloyed pleasure for him to find and bring to the House’s attention a report that supports so many of his party’s policies.