The Queen

The Queen’s Speech was presented to Parliament on 6^th November, outlining the legislative programme of the government for the coming year.

In a message to residents, Adam Carew, East Hants Parliamentary spokesman said, “East Hampshire has suffered from record rainfall and extremes of weather this year, a result of global warming and climate change which is caused by carbon emissions. The government’s response is to bring in a weak Climate Change Bill that lacks targets and the real action needed to tackle the problem.

“Thousands of residents of East Hampshire are hit hard by council tax, the unfairest tax around. But there was no mention of scrapping it and replacing it with a fairer system based on ability to pay.

“Many people in East Hampshire are unable to live in a home of their own because the government has failed completely over the past decade to ensure there is enough affordable housing. Yet the measures in the Queen’s Speech on housing will only scratch the surface of the problem in East Hampshire.

“Gordon Brown has been at the heart of the Labour government since it came to power over ten years ago. He has now been Prime Minister for four months. Yet there is little in the way of a vision in the Queen’s Speech of where he wants to take the country.

“Much of it is a collection of knee jerk reactions, rather than a picture of where Labour wants to take the country. And much of the rest is about grabbing headlines by trying to look as if problems that Labour have failed to tackle over the past decade are now being taken seriously.

“Many people in East Hampshire will be disappointed by this Queen’s Speech from the government. What could have been a great stride forward for both East Hampshire and the country has turned out to be a timid mishmash that will get us nowhere.”

TRANSPORT BILL MUST NOT BLACKMAIL COUNCILS - KRAMER

Commenting on the Local Transport Bill proposed in the Queen's Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Susan Kramer MP said:

"The Government is forcing councils into road pricing pilots, even where these are not the best option locally. As this is one of the only ways councils can get extra money, ministers are effectively blackmailing councils into pilot projects.

"We would rather see a move to national pricing for lorries, as is already up and running in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Commenting on proposals to re-regulate buses, Susan Kramer said:

"Greater powers over bus regulation in local areas must remain locally accountable.

"Local authorities must have full freedom to choose how they manage bus services, including providing the services directly themselves, using the London model or other partnership arrangements."

PLANNING CHANGES MUST PROTECT LOCAL COMMUNITIES, NOT BIG BUSINESS - STUNELL

Commenting on plans for a Planning Reform Bill in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Local Government Secretary, Andrew Stunell MP said:

“There’s a real risk the Planning Reform Bill will lead to a bulldozing of local opinion in a bogus quest for faster decisions.

“All the indications suggest the changes will help Labour’s friends in the nuclear and supermarket industries, rather than giving local people a genuine say in planning.

“The Bill should give local communities the powers they need to tackle climate change and mitigate the changes we’ve already seen, such as the terrible floods this summer.”

CLIMATE CHANGE BILL FULL OF HOLES - HUHNE

Commenting on the Climate Change Bill announced in the Queen's Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:

"A climate change bill could be a useful framework to sustain progress to a low carbon economy, but this proposal is still as full of holes as a Swiss cheese. Much more must be done to ensure it is not just an exercise in public relations and spin.

"The proposed 60% target for carbon emission cuts is based on outdated science and is nowhere near enough to prevent significant climate change. The latest scientific evidence suggests emissions must be reduced by at least 80% to prevent dangerous rises in global temperatures.

"Furthermore, there are crucial omissions in the Bill such as aviation and shipping. There is also no mention of high-powered greenhouse gases like methane.

"The proposed five year targets for emissions run beyond the life of a normal Parliament, so it will be difficult to hold ministers to account. We need annual benchmarks to achieve real progress."

FUNDING CARE FOR THE ELDERLY IGNORED IN QUEEN’S SPEECH - LAMB

Commenting on the health bills in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb MP said:

“The Queen’s Speech gives no sign of Brown’s vision of the NHS.

“It says nothing about the pressing priority of funding care for the elderly and nothing about the poor value for money obtained for the large sums invested in recent years. These are the issues which people care deeply about.

“We can only assume that Brown will continue his obsession with inflexible central control and fail to provide real accountability to the people the NHS is meant to serve.”

NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT EXTENSION OF 28-DAY DETENTION - CLEGG

Commenting on the announcement of a Counter-Terrorism Bill in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said:

“It is sad that the Government seems intent on returning to the issue of 28-day detention in a misguided attempt to demonstrate superficial toughness on terrorism.

“There is not a shred of evidence that such a radical change in the law is needed, particularly if measures such as post-charge questioning and the use of intercept evidence are introduced.”

GOVERNMENT STILL UNWILLING TO TACKLE MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES - HEATH

Commenting on the Constitutional Renewal (draft) Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Heath MP said:

“This is a long overdue step towards fairer and more transparent government from an administration that has been obsessed with centralisation and control for a decade.

“It is sad that ministers are still unwilling or unable to tackle the most difficult constitutional issues of our time like fixed term parliaments, devolving power to local government and reform of the deeply unfair voting system.”

On possible reforms to the party funding system, David Heath said:

“It is clear to everyone that if we are to have a fair and transparent party funding system then reform is needed urgently. The other two main parties seem to have lost sight of this fact in their desperation to secure crude political advantage. The public deserve better from their political parties.

“The Liberal Democrats believe that public confidence in the party funding system will only be restored through comprehensive reform rather than measures motivated purely by party self-interest.”

MEANS-TESTING UNDERMINING PERSONAL ACCOUNTS - ALEXANDER

Commenting on the Pensions Bill proposed in the Queen's Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander MP said:

"This Government's attempts to increase incentives to save for retirement are totally undermined by its damaging obsession with means-testing.

"Many people on low to middle incomes will think twice about setting aside money for old age when Labour's massive increases in means-testing means that they would simply be saving money for the Government rather than themselves.

"While the Conservatives are right to agree with us on this point, it's a shame that they haven't bothered to propose a workable solution. Hot air alone will not solve this problem.

"The Liberal Democrats would immediately restore the link between pensions and earnings and introduce a citizen's pension within 10 years that would slash means-testing from over 50% of pensioners to less than 10%, dramatically boosting incentives to save."

IMMIGRATION SYSTEM DOES NOT NEED STICKING PLASTER SOLUTIONS - CLEGG

Commenting on immigration measures announced in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said:

“The Government’s response to an immigration system in crisis looks set to be yet more sticking plaster solutions that are the usual muddle of ill-thought out panic measures and reheated announcements.

“We need a humane, workable and principled approach to immigration that concentrates on efficiency and competence rather than pandering to the headlines.”

GOVERNMENT DOOMED TO REPEAT PAST FAILURES ON HOUSING - HOLMES

Responding to the announcement of the Housing and Regeneration Bill in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Paul Holmes MP said:

“This over-hyped bill contains too little on affordable housing, too little on social housing and too little on sustainable housing.

“The fig leaf measures announced fail to tackle the massive housing crisis that Gordon Brown has played a key part in creating.

“Central diktat simply will not work. The Government must empower local communities to take their own housing decisions and put public land into affordable housing through Community Land Trusts.

“To tackle the housing crisis we need a housing revolution, yet this Government seems content to repeat past failures and continue with timid measures resulting in misery for millions of people."

CORONERS BILL MUST LOOK AT HANDLING OF MILITARY DEATHS - HEATH

Commenting on the Coroners Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Heath MP said:

“Reform of the coroners service is long overdue, but it is a great shame that the Government has backed down on some key organisational changes which would have greatly improved the service.

“In particular, ministers must take radical action to address the system’s handling of military deaths, which has formed a key part of the Royal British Legion’s ‘Honour the Covenant’ campaign.

“The delays in inquests for servicemen and women killed in action are unacceptable and deeply upsetting for their grieving families, who have often felt marginalised and unrepresented in the process.”

BILL CRIMINALISING YOUNG PEOPLE MUST BE AMENDED - LAWS

The Liberal Democrats will seek to amend the proposal in the Education and Skills Bill to raise the school leaving age.

Commenting on the Bill which was announced in the Queen’s Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws MP said:

“The Bill in its current form risks criminalising young people instead of tackling the reasons why they leave education in the first place.

“We will seek to take out this clunking fist approach in the Bill, replacing it with a better balance between enablement and compulsion.

“By proposing to spend £600m over a decade on a complex registration system and hiring inspectors to go around checking on small businesses, ministers are missing the point. There is a real problem with young people dropping out of education at 16, but the right approach is surely to tackle poor basic skills at an early age and make the curriculum more relevant.”

BANKS MUST ACT MORE RESPONSIBLY - GOLDSWORTHY

Commenting on the announcement in the Queen's Speech of a Bill to protect depositors and ensure confidence in the banking system, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Julia Goldsworthy MP said:

"If we are to promote a savings culture, action must be taken to restore confidence in the security of people's savings.

"Today's announcement will be cold comfort for the thousands of people who have already lost much of their life savings with companies such as Equitable Life.

"It is critical that if the taxpayer is to act as the lender of last resort to banks in financial difficulty, then there must be a greater onus on banks to act more responsibly.

"Without better regulation, this legislation will act as a carte blanche for banks to engage in ever more high risk strategies, knowing that they will not be held responsible for the consequences of their actions."