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Greater London Authority Bill

I hope that we are not making heavy weather of laying down, or postulating about, restricting the powers of the Mayor and the GLA on climate change. It is a much bigger issue than London, England or Britain. It is a global matter. If we, in exercising our responsibilities on the Bill, ensure that we implement sensible measures with understandable words as far as possible, that is about as much as we can do. Those who have drafted and supported the Bill are to be commended for it being sensible. We all understand that if something is laid on someone’s shoulders which is not possible for them to carry out, it brings not just that little bit into disrepute, but a wider range of things. This is the kind of situation where the Minister has clearly said that there will be a period of reflection, after which the words might be better than they are now. That is as much as we can do.