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Manchester City Council Bill [Lords] (By Order)

I am pleased that my hon. Friend finds the debate humorous. The problem is costing Bournemouth borough council tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds to get the Bill through. It is a serious piece of legislation, and if the problem were trivial or there were no problem, the council would not be trying to push it through. Nor would places such as Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth and London have bothered to secure such legislation already. I think that he supports the idea that there should be national legislation to empower local councils, and I do not understand why he is so adamant about hindering Bournemouth's ability to do something about a local matter in the interim.