QUEEN’S SPEECH SHOWS GOVERNMENT STILL OUT OF TOUCH

MPs returned to Westminster this week to hear Her Majesty the Queen set out the Government’s plans for the coming year in the State Opening of Parliament.

A grand occasion indeed, with lots of pomp and ceremony – but the Tory-led Government’s plans for Britain are deeply out of touch with what businesses, families and the jobless need.

“No change, no hope” was the message of this Queen’s Speech. For a young person looking for work, this speech offered no hope. For a family whose living standards are being squeezed, this speech offered no hope. For a small business which can’t get money from the bank, this speech offered no hope.

This is the speech that was supposed to be the Government’s answer to the clear message from the electorate last week. But on this evidence, they still don’t get it.

The Government says people have turned against them because they don’t understand the plan for the economy. It’s not the Government’s communications strategy that is the problem – it’s their failure.

The fact is David Cameron and Nick Clegg promised recovery, but they have delivered recession. We have the worst unemployment in 16 years, over a million young people out of work and the first double-dip recession in 37 years. A recession made in Downing Street – and this Queen’s Speech that did nothing to change that.

We needed action that put building an economy that works for working people centre stage. It should have been a boost to family living standards.

It was none of these things – which shows how seriously out of touch this Government really is.