Charles Clarke

First, I join the congratulations that have come from all parts of the House to the proposer and seconder of the Loyal Address. Both were entertaining, witty and powerful. I know both well and I think that they did themselves and everybody else credit.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the speech made by the Leader of the Opposition. He has led the most extraordinary attack on the Queen's Speech, writing in The Times yesterday that we

"will see a Prime Minister playing politics with the biggest constitutional event of the year."

The right hon. Gentleman's discovery that the Government's legislative programme is political is truly bizarre. His stance can surely be explained only by his fear of exposing to debate his own party's lack of clear policies, programme or philosophy. The fact is that almost all legislation is political-indeed, it should be, as it expresses the values and beliefs that underlie our society. The question is not whether the Queen's Speech is political, but whether its politics are right.

This legislative programme comes at the end of a Parliament elected in 2005, during which enormous and in many ways unpredictable changes have occurred in our national life. Some, such as the deep challenge from climate change and the reality of an ageing population, are now understood more widely and more deeply than they were at the start of this Parliament. In this year's Queen's Speech, the energy Bill and the personal care at home Bill are important and welcome steps towards implementing the excellent low-carbon transition plan and the first-class "Shaping the Future of Care Together" White Paper, both published in July.

It is, however, the world financial crisis and the rocking of the foundations of confidence in the integrity of our politics that represent the most significant changes since this Parliament was elected in 2005. In the economic field, this Government, and the Prime Minister in particular, have already played a leading role in putting into place the measures necessary to address the crisis, but one of the lessons of the past few years is that banking needs more and better focused regulation, not less. That is why, although I welcome the further measures proposed in the Queen's Speech to regulate banking, I hope that, in addition, the Government will consider including proposals that divide so-called retail and casino banking in the ways recommended by the Governor of the Bank of England and the Treasury Committee and respond more positively to the proposed European Union regulatory regime. I also hope that the Government will strengthen and encourage mutual financial institutions, including by remutualising Northern Rock.

— from debate entitled “Debate on the Address — [1st Day]”

The three speeches/headings immediately before

  1. 1 earlier: Nicholas Clegg

    We accept that the most important thing is to be credible in any plan to fill the structural deficit. Simply passing a law saying that the Government will halve the deficit over the next four years is irrelevant if they do not spell out the difficult choices. That is why the Liberal Democrats have advocated big, difficult, bold decisions-not renewing like for like the Trident nuclear missile system, ending tax credits for above average income families and ending the child trust fund of £250 for every 18-year-old in the country. That is not because the choices are popular; they are difficult, and we need to spell them out if we are to be credible about the deficit reduction programme that is absolutely necessary.

    What should Parliament be doing in these final weeks? The Queen's Speech should have been replaced by an emergency programme of political reform. After the expenses scandal, this Parliament has destroyed its legitimacy. In the few weeks remaining to it, the one gift that this failed Parliament can give its successor is a fresh start. When we move out of a house, we clean it for the people moving in. That must be the final task of this rump Parliament.

    Let me set out in a few words what real reform would look like-what the focus of the last 70 days of this Parliament should have been. We should introduce a power of recall, so that people can sack any MP found guilty of serious misconduct. All candidates at the next election should declare their financial interests, as Sir Christopher Kelly demanded. We should have real action to reform the House of Lords, not yet more delaying tactics from the draft legislation proposed in today's Queen's Speech. We need changes to House of Commons procedure to reduce Executive power.

    We should agree a total change in party funding, so that big money and the whiff of corruption that it brings are removed from politics for good. We should introduce fixed-term Parliaments, so that voters can never again be toyed with by a Prime Minister planning an election timetable to save his or her skin. Finally, we should have real action on electoral reform, so that every citizen knows that their vote counts.

    Of course those changes are a tall order, but with political will, they could transform our threadbare democratic institutions. Instead of being just a sorry footnote to a shameful year at Westminster, these months could have been a moment of important and permanent change in British political history. After today's Queen's Speech, however, we know that that opportunity to do the right thing has been squandered, yet again, by this Government.

  2. 2 earlier: John Redwood

    I am grateful to the leader of the Liberal Democrats for giving way. How big a reduction in the deficit would he recommend and what should be the balance between expenditure cuts and tax rises?

  3. 3 earlier: Nicholas Clegg

    Absolutely not. Of course, I accept that we shall scrutinise the Bills in the Queen's Speech and support or oppose them, as is the duty of a responsible Opposition party.

    I return to the basic question of what the Queen's Speech should be doing in the very little time available to this Parliament.

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