That Old Queen's Speech...
BATTERED and bruised by the 10p tax-band battle, woeful poll ratings and questions about his personality, Gordon Brown gave no obvious sign of pleasure as he rose to tell the Commons about the government's plans for the future.
Here was the opportunity, in his draft Queen's Speech, to give people a compelling reason to re-elect a Labour government that looks increasingly past its sell-by date.....IT WAS meant to provide focus to a directionless government and a compelling argument for a fourth term of power.
But the draft Queen's speech delivered yesterday by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, merely seemed to reinforce the perception that his administration has run out of ideas.
First came the insistence that, at a time of rising food and fuel bills, the tight finances of British families were the government's primary concern.
But there was nothing inside the 84-page "draft legislative programme" to reflect the concerns of the Bank of England governor that the UK economy was heading for recession.
To be fair, the previous day had been dominated by the repair job on the 10p tax fiasco and the handing of £120 to most UK taxpayers.
Yesterday's document was to be all about the "vision thing", but close reading revealed it to be a familiar New Labour rehash – nine of the 18 Bills had been published already, or were due for imminent release.
The idea of buying up unoccupied new houses was novel – but only £200 million is to be allocated. Based on the average UK house price, this may buy fewer than 1,000 properties.
Other bills appeared little more than padding. One referred to the United Nations adopting a red crystal symbol. Another required airports to draw up security plans – as if they have not already done so. So much for regaining the agenda.
