The 'hybrid' question came up almost un- observed in the
Lords just before the recess, on the third reading of the Airports Authority Bill. This Bill is a 'general measure.' But tacked on to it at a late stage is a clause to implement a promise made by Mr. Wilson when he was elec- tioneering in Isleworth last October. He then promised electors near London Airport govern- ment grants for sound-proofing their homes. Such a matter affecting local or private interests would normally be one for a private Bill. The pledge was intended to be limited to London Airport, for Mr. Roy Jenkins's announcement of March 10 clearly specified the districts, parishes and even wards of parishes to which it would apply. Then the Government seem to have discovered that if they tacked on such a provision, properly worded, it would have converted the Airports Authority Bill into a 'hybrid.' So to dodge this danger they added a clause that is im- properly worded for its avowed purpose. It is so drafted as to cover any householder near any aerodrome anywhere in the country, not just London. By this device the Bill remains a 'general measure,' immune from the delays of a 'hybrid' Bill: the Minister is to specify by regulation which particular householders are covered. The Bill in fact is a disguised 'hybrid.' This sharp manoeuvre has opened the door to much future lobbying from airport constituencies - and also deprived local and private interests of than right
to petition Parliament to which they would be entitled under a 'hybrid' measure.
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