PM on defensive over election battleground
Government unveils legislative agenda for new parliament in Queen's Speech
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Wednesday, 18, Nov 2009 05:13
By Matthew Champion.
Gordon Brown has defended his government's legislative programme after its contents and mere presence came under attack from opposition leaders.
After this morning's Queen's Speech an at-times heated debate followed in the Commons, with David Cameron accusing the prime minister of a "pathetic" attempt to draw up dividing lines.
Nick Clegg meanwhile repeated his charge that the entire speech should have been scrapped given the short time until the next parliament.
Earlier in the Lords the government unveiled its legislative agenda for the new parliament as Labour published an abridged version of its election manifesto.
Today's Queen's Speech saw the prime minister put economic recovery at the centre of the government's agenda as the pre-general election battle-lines were drawn.
At the heart of the legislative programme were commitments to halve the budget deficit and new powers for the Financial Services Authority to tear up contracts for bankers.
In a whirlwind seven-minute long speech and amid the pomp and circumstance of the state opening of parliament, the Queen unveiled ten new bills, three bills from the previous session and two draft bills.
"My government's overriding priority is to ensure sustained growth to deliver a fair and prosperous economy for families and businesses, as the British economy recovers from the global economic downturn," she said.
"Through active employment and training programmes, restructuring the financial sector, strengthening the national infrastructure and providing responsible investment, my government will foster growth and employment."
Commitments on free social care for some of the neediest in the UK, child poverty and House of Lords reform were also included.
Click here to read all the bills in full.
Conservative leader Mr Cameron said he backed large parts of the Queen's Speech because many of the proposals had come from his benches.
But he attacked the "half-baked" approach to parliamentary reform, particularly in the wake of the MP expenses scandal, dubbing the speech a "Labour press release on Palace parchment".
Mr Brown hit back, saying: "Poverty and inequality will persist until Doomsday under this leader of the opposition."
He later added: "Our changes are for the many and not the few and I commend them to the house."
When he finally got his opportunity to add his voice to the debate amid a mass emptying of the Commons, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said the Queen's Speech should have focused on cleaning up parliament.
He said that legislation had become Labour's "comfort blanket" and that it made them "feel good".
Never before has a Queen's Speech faced such a sustained attack from the opposition parties before it was even heard.
Parliament is only sitting for a further 70 days before the latest date at which the general election can be held and most bills take considerably longer to pass.