Talk Elections

The thread standing in for the House of Commons, here is where legislation will be proposed, debated and voted on.

Speaker (Mr. John Bercow): The debate on the Queen's Speech is now to begin.

Introduction

Mr Speaker it is a great honour to be standing here, as the first Liberal Democrat leader of opposition in nearly 100 years. It's great to have 176 Liberal Democrat MPs stood behind me, and I know that we look forward to being the official opposition, and continuing to fight for a new and fairer type of politics. And I think that everyone in this House would agree, that we have a rather new type of politics on display today.(chuckles)

I must congratulate the Rt. Hon member for her elevation to the office of Prime Minister, and I know it's a role that she takes very seriously, and one that she will carry out to be best of her ability .

But I must say Mr Speaker, when we prepared for this Queens Speech, and waited to hear what had been decided between her, and the minor parties on her right (points to UKIP MPs)we didn't expect her to fold so quickly. She's planned a Queens Speech, but she's dealt Britain a pretty bad hand.

The Prime Minister spend the election campaign refusing to outline just what she'd do on health and education spending, and we still don't know. She spend the election saying that UKIP were putting this nation's entire economic future at risk with their focus on Europe; and she's now called for a Referendum. She spend the entire election pretending that the conservative party had changed; and now it's clear for the entire British public. Have the Tories changed? To quote their former leader... No, No, No.

This is a Queens Speech that has come straight from the paranoid depths of the most right wing, the most reactionary and the most extreme government that we have seen in a generation. The people of Britain voted for change this election; but this is not the change that they want.

On Europe

We know that both the DUP and UKIP walked into the negotiating room wanting a referendum on Europe; and we know now that the Chief Whip will no doubt get a honour for his services to the United Kingdom Independence Party. They might even name him honorary chairman.

Never has a government so quickly, and so pathetically collapsed on a central tenant of their entire foreign and economic policy; nowhere in their manifesto was there a mention of a referendum on our membership. In fact I seem to remember someone saying during the campaign...


By the Prime Ministers own words this is the 'ultimate failure of policy and leadership'. I know that she's always been candid about her party's own failings, but this is a rather frank admission. I suppose now she'll have Mr Nutall yelling from the frontlines of her government.

The Liberal Democrats, and the British people know that parts of the EU need to be improved; we needs to open itself up to more trade deals and that it needs to work to tackle youth unemployment and poverty across Europe, but we do not gain anything by simply walking away. We do not get up and leave, and expect to walk off into some sort of sunset of 1950's nostalgia. We need to fight for Britain to be a leading, powerful, and prosperous voice in the EU. We're stronger in the European Union, and the European Union is stronger with Britain.

If the Conservatives had ran a manifesto with a pledge for a referendum; if they had demonstrated that people wanted a national debate on this issue then we would be supporting them in setting up this referendum. The Liberal Democrats believe in giving power back to the people of this country; this is why we support the government in having a referendum if there is a change in sovereignty, and its why we support a European wide effort to reform all of the EU. But the government’s current approach only offers confusion and chaos to both our allies, and the millions of Europeans who live and work in Britain.

Mr Speaker, any government should know that we need to have laser like focus on investment and jobs. We need to support businesses; whether they're multinational firms like Nissan, or small businesses reliant on migrant labour, they need certainty and stability from the government. They don’t need an unplanned ill thought out referendum that could send us into another crash. So I say this to the Rt. Honourable members on the benches opposite; abandon this plan, and focus on bringing quality jobs and investment to Britain. Do the job that you were sent here to do.

Immigration.

When we move onto the issue of immigration, we can see again that this Queens Speech completely ignores the need for a real recovery; and once again offers soundbites rather than solutions.  People want politicians to offer honest answers on immigration... so I’ll be honest ; a 50,000 cap is bad for Britain.

We don’t fix youth unemployment in Bolton by stopping an American surgeon working in London, we don’t bring investment to Glasgow by stopping an Indian engineer, and we won’t fix our economy by simply drawing a red line and saying, sorry no more. What is there’s an NHS crisis, where we need more doctors, what if our universities want to bring in more overseas students to live, and learn in this country, what if businesses want to bring over skilled workers. Once again this Queens Speech offers no foundation for a recovery, it offers no real answers to Britain’s problems, and all it offers is a chance for UKIP and the DUP a chance to pull the strings.

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, this Queens speech is simply not the best that the conservative party can offer this country. This is a program that will damage our economy, confuse our allies, frighten our businesses, lower our investment, and most importantly; divide our nation. There is simply no mandate for the program that the Government has put forward; both the conservative party, the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party received almost 80% of the vote. None of the manifesto's mentioned anything about a referendum on Europe. In the Prime Ministers own words this is a failure of leadership.

So I say to the conservative MP's on the benches opposite; stand up to this failed Queens Speech, stand up for your manifesto, stand up to protect our economy, and, please, stand up for Britain. We deserve so much better than this chaotic, divisive and destructive Queens Speech. The Liberal Democrats will be voting against this Queens Speech, because Britain deserves so much better than this. 

()

Mr Speaker, I am honored to begin my remarks by congratulating the honorable members who moved and seconded this Address-in-Reply to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech. It is a great honor to be elected as a member of this House, and to the large class of 2012, I bid a warm welcome.

Mr Speaker, we are living in interesting and trying times. We are privledged indeed to be actors in history as the United Kingdom opens a new chapter in the proud and esteeemed history of our parliamentary democracy. I know there are many members of this House who continue to look at the days of first-past-the-post with fond recollection, but we are entering a new era now, and I think the only proper way to address that is with confidence and excitement.

While we have moved to a proportional system, the result of the general election could not have been clearer. The Conservative Party received the greatest number of votes, the greatest number of seats, and came in first place in all but two electoral regions of Great Britain. The Government has the confidence of the country to govern, and now we ask for the confidence of this House.

Our legislative program is centered on reducing unemployment, expanding economic growth to every corner of this country, and returning freedoms and liberties to the British people.

Paramount in our work is the reduction of unemployment, in particular youth unemployment. The full brunt of the recession continues to be felt in disadvantaged regions in every part of this country and that must be addressed with bold and active measures. Our tax cuts for every small business, entrepreneur, and working family in this country will serve as an immediate boost in productivity and growth.

We will commit to local solutions to local problems empowering communities and turbo-charging investments. Our plans to expand and strengthen apprenticeships will train a new generation in crucial, dignified professions which we all rely on every day.

We will take the most significant action on industrial relations in a generation by guaranteeing that every corporate board must have guaranteed representation for employees to be treated as equals. We reject the outdated and divisive rhetoric of class warfare from those opposite and seek to deliver solutions that treat working people with the respect that they deserve.

Coupled with our action to reduce unemployment, the Government has committed to tackling the growing deficit and debt crises which are unsustainable for this nation and serve as an unfair burden onto the next generation. We have targeted two billion pounds of spending reductions which we will use this year on duplicate spending, government red tape and needless regulation, and vanity projects of the last Government. We cannot afford to punt on this issue any longer like the members opposite did when they formed the last government.

We will have the courage of our convictions to tackle this problem head on, and call on all parties to have the same.

Our deficit reduction plans will be formed in a sensible and fair way: we have guaranteed a "triple-lock" on state pensions and will protect education and NHS funding. Our social welfare provides the bedrock of our economy and society and will be made stronger by the actions of this Government.

As we seek to invest in every part of this country, we have committed to enhancing devolution for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. All three devolved assemblies and parliaments will be granted further law making powers in consultation with their respective ministers. We will guarantee that government funding flow on an equatable and fair basis to regions outside of London and provide new opportunities for every part of this country.

Our plan to reduce non-EU migration to this country is one which we took to the British people clearly and frankly at the election and was endorsed by their votes. We will resetablish control over the immigration system after the years of mismanagement, waste, and excuses which is the shameful record of the last government.

Finally, we have committed the single greatest expanse of democratic freedoms in a generation by the introduction of the Referendums Bill. This proposed law will grant the final decision on any new agreement between Westminster and Brussels with the British people themselves. We have agreed to conduct a referendum on this county's membership in the European Union, and a bill to provide for such a referendum will be presented in the lifetime of this Parliament.

We trust and respect the British people, and we firmly believe that they should have the fundamental right to decide on their own future and the future of their country. Every member of this House should have the right to argue his or her own position in the resultant referendum campaign, but the right of the people to vote cannot be denied.

Mr Speaker, our Government is willing and ready to serve this country. To bring relief to millions of families and businesses and restore confidence in our economy and our politics. We have the confidence of the voters, and now we ask for the confidence of this House.

I humbly commend this Loyal Address to the House.

The Green Party and its MPs will be voting against the Queen's Speech

The SNP will vote AYƐ on the Queen's Speech. We have received promises from the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister that the Government plans to strengthen the powers of the Holyrood parliament.

UKIP Shall Vote Aye on the Queen's Speech!

The DUP shall vote in the affirmative on the Queen's Speech.

Speaker: (Mr. John Bercow): ORDER! To the voting lobbies, the Ayes to the right, and the Noes to the left:

Aye: Conservatives (259), UKIP (49), Scottish National Party (10), DUP (7), UUP (2): 327
Noe: Lib Dems (177), Labour (120), Green Party (12), PC (5), SDLP (3): 317
Abstain: Alliance (1): 1

The Ayes have it, I repeat, the Ayes have it! The Queen's Speech passes.