Newington's Mark Glover gives an overview of the Queen's Speech.
The Queen’s Speech was low-key both in the ceremony and the content. With the Conservatives failing to achieve an overall majority much that was controversial in their manifesto has fallen by the wayside: payments for social care (the so-call “dementia tax”), energy price capping, fox hunting, the cutting of free school meals and plans for more grammar schools all seem to have been shelved or put out for consultation.
This reflects the political reality that without an overall majority the Conservatives will need to focus on securing votes for their core bills around the delivery of Brexit and enabling legislation for policy already agreed prior to the election.
The Queen’s speech therefore focused on the issue of Brexit and a number of bills are being introduced to enable this. The Repeal Bill to repeal the European Communities Act. Legislation to establish new national policies via the Immigration Bill, International Sanctions' Bill, Nuclear Safeguards Bill, Agriculture Bill and the Fisheries Bill. Two new bills have also been introduced to allow the UK to have an independent trade policy, the Trade Bill and the Customs Bill.
The rest of the bills put forward were enabling bills to allow the Conservatives to deliver what is left of their domestic agenda, these include bills covering subjects such as HS2, the space industry, smart meters, automated and electric vehicles and the tenants fees. Full details of all the bills published found on our website: www.newingtoncomms.co.uk/
The Conservative party under May’s leadership is very nervous of losing a vote in Parliament, the Queen’s Speech being possibly the first big test, which could see another election called, as given the current political climate that could mean a number of Conservative members losing seats and the very real likelihood of a Labour Government under Jeremy Corbyn.
Indeed, it is the fear of a Corbyn-led Government which will be the most effective glue in sticking the DUP to the Conservative agenda. An emboldened Corbyn will make a lot of noise about the legitimacy of the Government, causing short term difficulties for the Conservatives, but as Parliament settles down he will have his own internal battles to fight at the Labour Conference in September. What happens there will shape Labour’s activity in the months ahead and beyond with party moderates, especially around the issue of Brexit.
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