- Slimmed-down slate of 12 new Bills for the Coalition's last year in power will be revealed by Her Majesty today
- Labour today accused the Tories and Liberal Democrats of overseeing a 'zombie government' - one without new ideas
- But the Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg insist that after four years they are still reforming
- Big pensions changes on withdrawing lump sums and Dutch-style schemes will be introduced in Queen's Speech
Plans to
make Britain the best place in the world to start a business, get a job
and raise a family have been put at the centre of today’s Queen’s
Speech.
David
Cameron and Nick Clegg admitted there is still a ‘long way to go’ to
rebuild Britain, but insisted they have not run out of ideas after four
years in power.
A
slimmed-down slate of just 12 new bills include major pension reforms,
tax-free childcare, help for small business and legal crackdowns on
trafficking, criminal gangs and parents who starve their children of
love.
But to the surprise of some, there is no new legislation on schools or the NHS and no mention of tackling immigration.
Royal visit: The Queen and Prince Philip travel
in the new Diamond Jubilee State Coach to deliver her speech for the
State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords at the Palace of
Westminster today
Pageantry: Her Majesty set off from Buckingham
Palace for Parliament in her glorious new Diamond Jubilee state coach,
which contains pieces of artefacts from throughout Britain's history.
The speech setting out the Coalition’s final year of law-making will be
delivered by the Queen in the ceremonial highlight of the Parliamentary
year.
She is travelling to the Palace of Westminster in a new state
coach, which incorporates fragments of the Mary Rose, timber from the
Western Front and a musketball from Waterloo.
Peers and dignitaries
are gathering for the event in Parliament after the traditional search
of the vaults under Parliament by the Queen's royal bodyguards, the
Yeoman of the Guard.
MPs will be summoned to the House of Lords to listen to the Queen deliver the coalition’s last legislative programme.
Amid
the pomp and ceremony of the State Opening of Parliament, the
government hopes to show that with another year until the general
election it has not lost its reforming zeal.
In a
joint statement, Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg said that the speech would be
‘unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration’.
A ‘revolution’ in pensions forms the centrepiece of the Government’s final legislative programme.
It
will amount to ‘the biggest transformation in our pensions system since
its inception’, and will ‘give people both freedom and security in
retirement’, they said.
‘By
no longer forcing people to buy an annuity, we are giving them total
control over the money they have put aside over their lifetime and
greater financial security in their old age.’
While
the Queen's Speech includes measures for small business, crime and
recalling corrupt MPs, there will be no new reforms of immigration or
the health service.
The
absence of new moves to tackle immigration is the biggest surprise,
coming just days after UKIP secured victory in the European elections
with a strident anti-immigration campaign.
A Labour source said: 'Staggering if true that there is no mention of immigration or the NHS in the Queen's Speech.'
Defence: David Cameron and Nick Clegg have today insisted the Coalition was still taking 'bold steps' after four years in power
New Parliament: The Queen, pictured last year in
the Irish state coach, will set out a total of 11 new Bills which are
expected to pass into law before the General Election in May 2015
Brand new: The new Diamond Jubilee state coach
is being used for the state opening of Parliament for the first time and
is made up of items from throughout Britain's history
Symbolism: A part of the Stone of Destiny which is placed in a capsule beneath the seats in the new Diamond Jubilee state coach
and the panelling wood from the Mayflower, a rivet from the Flying
Scotsman, slivers of Scot's Antarctic sled, wood from Sir Isaac Newton's
apple tree and the beams of most of our great cathedrals
For parents, there will be a promise of tax-free childcare worth £1,900 per child, helping up to 1.9million families.
A
small businesses Bill will focus on cutting red-tape, while employers
who do not pay the minimum wage will face fines of up to £20,000.
A crackdown on zero hours contracts will end exclusivity contracts, which force workers to only work for one firm at once.
Pub
landlords will be given greater protection from soaring rents and
eye-watering bills from pub companies under tied contracts.
A 5p charge for plastic bags expected to cut their use by at least three-quarters will be introduced next year.
The
levy - applying to supermarkets and larger stores - is to be
implemented by the Government following a six-year campaign by the Daily
Mail.
Voters
will be promised the chance to kick-out MPs under a new right to
recall, amid a row over whether the new law will be effective in holding
corrupt or dishonest politicians to account.
On law and order, a Cinderella Law will prosecute parents who starve their children of love and affection.
A
US-style anti-mafia law will prosecute lawyers, accountants and
couriers who work for crime lords while paedophiles who download manuals
on how to groom their victims to be treated like terrorists who possess
bomb making guides.
Victims of trafficking forced into beg or the sex trade will escape prosecution.
A
heroism Bill will protect members of the public from prosecution if
they rush in to help people in accidents or fires and something goes
wrong.
A new Military Ombudsman watchdog will combat bullying, harassment and discrimination in the armed forces.
Big pay-offs given to public sector workers as ‘golden goodbyes’ will be clawed back if they get another state-funded job.
There
will be new incentives to encourage shale gas exploration, including
amending trespass laws to allow pipelines to run under private homes.
Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg added: ‘All of this builds on what we have achieved as a coalition.
‘It
is easy to forget when we first came together in the national interest
just how sceptical people were about how long the Coalition could last
and how much change we could effect.
‘Four
years on, our parties are still governing together and still taking
bold steps. Four years on, no one can deny the progress we have made.
‘The
deficit down by a third; our economy one of the fastest-growing in the
developed world; more than 1.5 million more people in work – and more
people in work than ever before; a welfare system that ensures work
pays; more than 1 million new apprentices; taxes cut; inequality
declining and fewer children attending failing schools.
‘Of
course, there is still a long way to go. But this Queen’s Speech marks a
significant step. It builds on the foundations we have laid in the past
four years, will help us make progress and continue to take Britain
forward to a brighter future.’
However Labour leader Ed Miliband said the programme did not address the challenges faced by Britain.
‘The
local and European elections show the depths of discontent with the
direction of our country which people increasingly feel does not work
for them.
‘We need action, we need answers, we need a programme for government equal to the scale of the challenge our country faces.
‘We
would have a Queen’s Speech with legislation which would make work pay,
reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain.
‘A Queen's Speech which signals a new direction for Britain, not one which offers more of the same.’
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