The Queen’s Speech: not a recall bill, but a fudge
Today’s announcement ultimately puts the power of recall in the hands of parliament rather than the hands of constituents.
Today’s announcement ultimately puts the power of recall in the hands of parliament rather than the hands of constituents.
Here are five announcements we would have liked to have seen today.
A possible Conservative amendment to the Queen’s Speech condemning it for failing to include a bill advocating a referendum on EU membership would be a “venal act of self indulgence” that could be the beginning of the end of the Conservatives in office, a former Conservative MP has claimed.
Front and centre in today’s Queen’s Speech was the announcement that the government will be limiting the ability for certain migrants to use the Human Rights Act – and its provision for the right to a private and family life – to avoid deportation.
For the sake of appeasing a handful of Tory backbenchers and shoring up the UKIP vote, the government may have just heaped another burden on already hard-pressed tenants.
One rare piece of good news from the Tory-led government was Nick Clegg’s decision to block the so-called ‘Snoopers Charter’, a draft piece of fundamentally illiberal legislation which would have allowed the security services to monitor emails, text messages and internet browsing.
Ed Miliband will today seek to portray the Tories as the party of the few, helping bankers, millionaires and Murdoch while doing nothing for everyone else.
Alex Hern details the effects that the extraordinarily late Queen’s Speech will have on legislation in the Lords.
Plans for more devolution of powers to Scotland and Wales were announced by the Queen today.