Campaign news

Queen’s Speech ‘hardly inspirational’

18th November 2009

The Government has today set out in the Queen’s Speech its legislative agenda for the period up until the General Election.

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, said:

“There are elements in the Queen’s Speech which no-one could fail to support but it is hardly the inspirational programme needed to win the General Election. Introducing radical measures 12 years late makes it difficult to restore the credibility of the Government and missing from the programme regrettably was yet again any mention of trade union rights.”

“A Labour Prime Minister today announcing the scrapping of Trident and ID Cards, the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, a surge in the increase of the state pension, the ending of tuition fees for students, a huge programme of council house building, the reconstruction of a publicly owned transport system and real measures to tackle poverty and inequality could have been the green light for a Labour victory at the General Election. But tragically we didn’t hear anything of the sort today.”

Labour MP, Jeremy Corbyn, writing in the Morning Star, said:

“Last Saturday, the Labour Representation Committee met and discussed a number of proposals for protecting jobs, promoting trade union rights and reducing inequality within our society.

“We need to show that there is an alternative to increasing defence expenditure, cutting social spending and creating even greater inequality. It’s up to the Labour Party to rediscover itself and offer a radical alternative that conquers inequality and poverty.”

Read the full article online.

Tags: labour's future (24)