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Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

My Lords, my recollection of the transition/shadow period for the Greater London Authority was that it was very short and clearly not long enough, but that is not the point I will make tonight. I sometimes think that, faced with a difficult decision, it is wise to ask oneself, ““How will I feel, looking back in six months or a year, if I did or did not do something?””. In this situation, if the Government postpone the changes in London, they will be able to look back a year and a half from now and say, ““Phew, that went okay. What damage did we do by not making the changes? Well, none really. What damage have we suffered? Maybe a little to our egos, but does that matter?””. How much better to be in that situation if there has been a problem, which may or may not be related to the changes in governance, than to be told by the noble Lord opposite or my noble friend behind me, ““Well, we did warn you””, and for the world to say, ““You were warned””. I do not see a problem if the Government make what is hardly even a concession but more a slight shift in thinking. The balance is between very little on the one hand, and possibly nothing but possibly something catastrophic on the other.