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Manchester City Council Bill [Lords](By Order)

My right hon. Friend makes a number of points. I stress again that we on the Conservative Front Bench—and, I am sure, those on the Government Front Bench—do not in any way wish to stigmatise pedlars. Those who go about their business in a lawful way are fully entitled to do so. The problem is that those who cause a nuisance are likely to be shifted from one area to another. If they find that the policing regime in one area is too onerous, they will move to another area where the police are overstretched and do not have time to deal with the problem. Although he did not actually say this, my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch indicated that the Manchester Bill applies only to Manchester city. If the Manchester city police were to police the matter rigorously, the pedlars and other street traders—we are not talking about just pedlars—would move on to Greater Manchester or nearby areas. That is the crux of the problem and why it is so difficult to deal with the problem locally.