Back our Bill, Mr Darling 

London Councils has today called on Chancellor Alastair Darling to back the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bags) Bill, which, if passed, will introduce a capital-wide ban on throwaways shopping bags.

The call comes after the Chancellor announced he would give major retailers a year to dramatically reduce the use of throwaway shopping bags before the government brings forward national legislation to impose a charge on them. 

Welcoming the Chancellor's announcement, London Councils' Chairman Councillor Merrick Cockell said:

"We are pleased to see that the government has finally heeded the calls of communities from across the UK to act on the environmental blight of throwaway shopping bags.

However, there is currently a Bill in parliament which could do their job for them: the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bags) Bill is waiting for its second reading, and if passed, would bring about a capital-wide ban on throwaway shopping bags.