‘People power' removed from the Localism Bill

The House of Lords has removed the flagship 'local referendum' provision, which provided the community empowerment element from the Localism Bill, and have allowed voters to launch a local referendum on any local issue. "We have listened to the concerns over expense and have decided, with regard to towns, that the local referendums do not need to have a place within this Bill," said Baroness Hanham, Parliamentary-Under-Secretary of State. However, Hanham added that referendums have not been totally abandoned and still exist for council tax, right-to-build and neighbourhood planning, a cornerstone of the Bill. Full list of amendments here