Local Authority Boundaries (Referendums) Bill

Christopher Chope Excerpts

Friday 24th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore]

That is another excellent point made by an hon. Friend. There is an illustration of it in Ilkley, where the border between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire is literally the River Wharfe in some cases. There will be planning applications going through in North Yorkshire that have a direct impact on West Yorkshire. On that point, it is incredibly frustrating that Bradford Council does not allow the objections or comments on a planning application to be seen by the wider public. It hides them from scrutiny, which is incredibly frustrating for many of my constituents. The point that I am making is that these issues matter because they have an impact on everyone’s day-to- day life.

[Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing his Bill this far. His plea for localism will strike a very strong chord in Christchurch. When Christchurch had its independence taken away from it, a council was created with 76 members, but as Christchurch has only 10 of those members, it effectively has no say at all in what happens in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

[Robbie Moore]

My hon. Friend makes another excellent point. It is important that what is said by any individual who represents a body of people or a community carries weight and is heard. If a local authority is too large in terms of the number of residents it represents, or its geographical area is too great, or a single city within a local authority’s boundaries is getting all the attention from that local authority, with the outlying towns and villages being deprioritised, there is a real risk that communities will suffer. Unfortunately, that is exactly what my constituents are experiencing within the communities that I represent. Communities in Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden, Steeton, Riddlesdown, East Morton, the Worth Valley and areas within my wider constituency are full of passionate people who quite rightly are incredibly proud of where they live. They want their area to grow, thrive and prosper, but, for far too long, have felt completely unrepresented and ignored by our local authority, Bradford Council.

The Bill is all about creating smaller unitary authorities, so that a local authority is able to better focus on the needs of their local residents. I do not seek to create a further tier of government, but, simply, to make local government work for local people and local communities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robbie Moore]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. The issue comes down to local voices being heard by those representing them. It is incredibly frustrating to hear that the Mayor of London is not listening to the likes of my hon. Friend’s constituents on issues such as the ULEZ tax. That is directly linked to the clean air zone tax that we are having imposed on us by Labour-run Bradford Council across Bradford district. That is having a direct impact on many businesses locally.

[Sir Christopher Chope]

Is this excellent Bill going to be supported by the Government? As my hon. Friend puts his arguments to the Government, I draw his attention to the fact that years ago we persuaded the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher to abolish the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority, using the very rationale that he has put forward—namely, that we wanted local people to have control over local education and local services.

[Robbie Moore]

That is exactly what we need to do: make sure that local voices are heard. Smaller unitary authorities, rather than the two-tiered approach, are an excellent way of enabling those in positions of representation to be heard and to get direct responses and services back to their constituents. My hon. Friend makes a very good point.