The Queen's Speech

Written by Colin Breed on Fri 20th Nov 2009

The last session of this Parliament commenced this week with the Queens Speech. When I first entered Parliament the contents of the speech were a closely guarded secret whilst today the Government selectively leaks potential news stories to its friends in the press, so much was already known. Being so late in the year and only a couple of weeks in advance of the Pre-Budget Report, both will have the distinct whiff of a pre-election manifesto. It is expected that Parliament will actually sit for just 70 days before the likely date of the General Election and it is doubtful, therefore, if much legislation will proceed through both Houses and on to the Statute Book.

A number of Bills announced in the Queens Speech may be more pre-election window-dressing than serious attempts to introduce new laws. The Government also knows that several tax raising measures are already scheduled for early next year. Not only will VAT return to 17.5% on the 31st December, but new income tax bands and allowances were approved in this year's Budget for introduction from 5th April 2010 - hardly welcome news immediately before an election in May.

The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has suggested that far from introducing new Bills, with most unlikely to become law, Parliament should concentrate on reforming itself in advance of the election. There is certainly much to do in the way the House of Commons does its work, while completing the modernisation of the House of Lords would take concerted effort and Parliamentary will, which may be available now, but not after the election. Of course, the chances of this occurring have been greatly reduced by the Government using the Queens Speech as an electoral asset, rather than seriously addressing the need for urgent and important modernisation.

Perhaps one area which should be tackled with urgency is the strengthening of banking regulation and supervision, combined with some co-ordination with Europe and the USA. Again, political will is more likely to be achieved whilst the financial crisis remains high in the public psyche. However, initial plans look hasty and likely to produce many unwelcome and unintended consequences. It will take some time but this at least could and should be achieved before this Parliament comes to an end sometime before June 2010.