THE QUEEN'S SPEECH -- POLICIES FOR ALL?

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH -- POLICIES FOR ALL?

The Queen -- Telling us the Government's programme

It was interesting to hear what the government has in store for us in the coming year or so. I am not sure that transferring maternity leave between partners will be a huge hit, especially if one partner is under a great deal of work pressure to deliver. The proposals on making adoption easier, more support for special needs for children and greater access for divorced fathers are welcome.

The focus on certain aspects of the economy is understandable and the splitting of the banks between their investment and retail arms is long overdue. The introduction of a Green Investment bank could provide a much needed stimulus to the economy and it really does need it at the moment. It could well be easier to sack workers as a result of the industrial tribunal system being overhauled; This should be balanced by shareholders having more powers to curb excessive pay for directors and that is especially welcome when those directors have not performed as they should have. The reduction of the deficit and associated borrowing remains a key target however there is little recognition that the best way this can be done is by promoting economic growth and not just cutting public spending.

Changes to communications legislation will make it easier for police and security services to collect information on people. Let's hope this will not be mis-used by organisations that should know better. Another freedom promoting move could be a check on the buying power of huge supermarkets and the effect they might have on local suppliers and communities. How this might be delivered through an independent adjudicator is anyone's guess. The moves to televising court proceedings need to be done sensitively as we do not wish to be turned into an American TV legal system. Driving a car when you have had a spliff or two should always have been a criminal offence in itself -- Offences relating to driving under the influence of drugs do need to be clarified. A particularly good proposal in my experience is the move to cut down voter registration fraud, which is a deep stain on our democracy.

I may be able to retire at 66 with a flat rate pension but what will the quality of my social care provision be like at that age? At least I will not be exposed to funding a Euro bail out if a Euro country defaults. Can the UK really get out of that one?

Pushing for Lords reform - making the Upper Chamber more democratic is still in the programme though I guess that this will be a hard road to follow in this parliament. The Upper Chamber needs to be more democratic but perhaps we have bigger fish to fry at the moment.

In a joint statement, Mr Cameron and his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg said: "The primary task of the government remains ensuring that we deal with the deficit and stretch every sinew to return growth to the economy, providing jobs and opportunities to hard-working people across Britain who want to get on."

There have been 19 Bills in different stages proposed in this speech, not all of them will get through, but the economy remains paramount -- that needs to be fixed first of all before too much time can be spent on other things.

The government cannot be distracted it must try and get people back to work as well as just cutting public spending. Working people paying taxes is the best way of turning the country round.