Well, of course, I’m always interested in what David Melding has to say. Thank you for what you said on 16 and 17-year-olds. I absolutely agree with him that one of the key arguments for extending the franchise in that way is that it allows you to create an educated and informed citizenry early on in their lives, and hopefully then to be able to go on harnessing the benefits of that during the remainder of the time that we will hope they will be interested in democracy.

When we’ve debated it across the Chamber here, it’s an idea that has had very widespread support. The experience of the Scottish referendum, which we’ve rehearsed here in those debates, is very heartening in the way in which young people at that point in their lives were so engaged in matters that would make such a difference, potentially, to their own futures.

The permissive PR—not only has it appeared in other manifestos here in Wales, but it was put on the statute book, is on the statue book, in New Zealand. Our model in this Chamber has been the New Zealand model. A Labour Government in New Zealand put permissive PR on the statute book there over a decade ago. It has worked in exactly the way that I’ve described here this afternoon. Some local authorities have decided that their circumstances are better suited to one method than the other. There has been a gradual change in the pattern over time, but my understanding is about half of local authorities in New Zealand are now elected by one method and half by another. Only one local authority has changed its system and decided to revert to the one it had before.

There is no great organising principle, I think, at stake here. What is at stake, I believe, is the general principle of this White Paper, which is that we allow local authorities themselves to make the decisions that are right for them, rather than thinking that we, here, in the centre, are better placed than they are to know what is right for their localities. And I don’t think I have been convinced this afternoon by Members who stand up saying that they’re glad that local authorities are going to be able to have the choice in this area, or that area, or that area, but, when it comes to this matter, suddenly decide that we know better than they do. I think consistency of allowing local authorities themselves a menu of choices—choices that will be determined by this Assembly when we come to legislate—but then allowing them to do things in a way that reflects their own needs and circumstances; I think that’s a principle, and it’s one, I hope, that this White Paper reflects.