“David Cameron has hailed the Queen’s Speech as “a packed programme of a busy and radical government” amid claims the coalition has run out of steam. He was defending the 11 new bills that make up the coalition’s plans for its final year in power before an election.” – BBC
>Yesterday:
“Government plans to allow voters to sack their MPs were today dismissed as ‘worse than meaningless’. The long-awaited bill to allow MPs to be ‘recalled’ by constituents was announced in the Queen’s Speech. It will give constituents the opportunity to sign a petition demanding a by-election if an MP is jailed – or if the House of Commons ‘resolves that an MP should face a recall petition’. But the proposals were slammed by Tory backbencher Zac Goldsmith, who said MPs should not have a role in deciding whether or not they should face a petition to be sacked.” – Daily Mail
“A ‘revolution’ in pensions forms the centrepiece of the Government’s final legislative programme. The Pensions Tax Bill will allow people to withdraw their funds when they retire, instead of being forced to take out an annuity which pays a guaranteed income until they die. Critics say it risks some people spending all of their nest egg at once, leaving them cash-strapped in their retirement. But Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg said: ‘By no longer forcing people to buy an annuity, we are giving them total control over the money they have put aside over their lifetime and greater financial security in their old age.’ ” – Daily Mail
“The Government vowed to strip back the planning restraints on industry from fracking to housebuilding in a Queen’s Speech it claimed was “unashamedly pro-business”. The Infrastructure Bill will be used to scrap trespass rules to allow shale gas explorers to drill under private land without consent. David Cameron and Nick Clegg said they planned to make Britain “energy independent”.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: The Deep End: It’s grim down south – or why ministers would rather not find shale gas under Sussex
“The afternoon belonged to Penny Mordaunt (Con, Portsmouth N), whose speech in the traditional first slot of the debate was the best I have heard. She spoke up for her city, inserted just enough politics, spoke strongly and said – with a deep, statuesque breath – that she would have worn her Naval Reserve uniform had the customs of the House not forbade it – and had she not feared it would pop the blood pressure of her lusty colleague ‘Bosnia’ Bob Stewart.” – Quentin Letts Daily Mail
“There’s nothing on migration or the fiasco of human rights law. Nothing on knife crime. Even the much-trumpeted promise to sack law-breaking MPs crumbles to dust on closer inspection. Indeed, about the best that can be said for the Speech is that it doesn’t include a law to force increases in overseas aid. As for urgently needed practical measures, such as approving more airport capacity in the South East, these will have to wait until we have ministers who can agree among themselves. Until then – and we’ll have to wait at least 10 months – we’re doomed to an administration treading water. Spare us from another coalition in 2015.” – Leader Daily Mail
“A furious David Cameron was struggling last night to contain the fallout from an explosive row between two of his most powerful cabinet ministers after it overshadowed the Queen’s Speech. The prime minister rebuked Michael Gove personally after the disclosure that the education secretary believed that Theresa May, the home secretary, was failing to take robust enough action to prevent Islamic extremism in schools. He was also furious that the Home Office retaliated by releasing an internal letter accusing Mr Gove of failing to act over fundamentalists targeting schools, despite warnings going back four years.” – The Times(£)
>Today: ToryDiary: May and Gove should snog and make up
“Up to 1,000 Tory activists are due in Newark on Thursday in an unprecedented all-out effort to stop the UK Independence Party winning its first ever MP. The activists are due to report to five campaign centres in what should be one of the Conservatives’ safest Parliamentary seats. …The day starts at 4.45am when Lord Feldman of Elstree and Grant Shapps MP, the party’s co-chairmen, lead a series of “dawn raids” by posting leaflets through the doors of households across the area.” – Daily Telegraph
“A tax cut for millions of Britain’s lowest earners is being considered by the Tories in an attempt to win their vote at the next election. An ambitious proposal to slash the national insurance payments demanded from low-paid workers is among the options being considered for inclusion in the party’s election manifesto. Jo Johnson, the Tory MP for Orpington, who is putting together ideas for the Conservatives’ election pitch, is to deliver a first tranche of policy ideas to David Cameron later this month.” – The Times(£)
“Key allies of party leaders Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have met to discuss what common ground there is between the two parties, the BBC reported. The Labour peer Lord Adonis, and Lord Wood, one of Ed Miliband’s closest advisers, met Jonny Oates, Mr Clegg’s chief of staff and Neil Sherlock, a prominent Liberal Democrat and donor, the BBC’s Newsnight programme said.” – Daily Telegraph
“Jean-Claude Juncker is “waiting for a phone call” from David Cameron after declaring that Britain has all but failed to stop him becoming
president of the European Commission. The former Luxembourg prime minister is attempting to open negotiations with Mr Cameron, claiming that he is prepared to offer a “fair deal” for Britain. He has already ruled out changes to the four founding principles of the European Union, including freedom of movement, which will infuriate Tory eurosceptics.” – The Times(£)
“Alistair Darling has compared the behaviour of Alex Salmond to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and said the Scottish independence referendum campaign has become mired in threats and intimidation. In an interview in the New Statesman, the leader of the pro-UK Better Together campaign argues: “[Salmond] said on the BBC that people voted Ukip in Scotland because English TV was being beamed into Scotland. This was a North Korean response. This is something that Kim Jong-il would say.” – The Guardian