Westminster

[Barnes]

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 We reject the outdated and divisive rhetoric of class warfare from those opposite and seek to deliver solutions that treat working people with the respect that they deserve.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.