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Canterbury City Council Bill

I rise to make a few brief remarks to confirm that the Liberal Democrats support the measure. The debate about the national framework will command wide support across the House. However, hon. Members have made the point that waiting for the framework might be like waiting for Godot. It is therefore important to press ahead with this measure not only for that reason, but because it could be used as a test, so that when the next Government, whomever they may be, get around to drafting legislation following the consultation, they will have an example of such legislation working in practice. They would then be able to build on that example and use it as best practice, or, if it did not work, to learn lessons from it.