---

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

I do not think the Liberal Democrats have ever said it was a good idea for someone who had no connection with a local authority area to stand for election to that local authority. Perhaps I am expressing some Whig principles, but we have stood by those principles for a very long time. There is a real problem. What we are talking about is not whether people pay tax in a certain way, but the underlying problem of their commitment. That is why I am not entirely happy with how the Government have chosen to deal with the problem—it does not require that commitment from individuals, but simply says that they are to be treated as if they have it whether or not they do. The measure tends to treat the symptoms, not the underlying disease.