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Local Government (Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk)

Actually, I have a great deal of respect for the pride that those cities have. They have their lord mayors, and I have been pleased to see some of the civic work that they do, as do the historic counties. A sensible balancing act has to be carried out. Pride is an important consideration, but so must be proper process and consistency with the Government's own criteria. With every respect, I do not remember pride being one of the five criteria. Perhaps when the Minister opens the Government's defence, she will tell me that that is a third compelling reason that she has managed to think of in between writing letters to local authorities up and down the country this afternoon.