Has Gordon Brown done enough to save his skin?
Today's Queen's speech was the shortest in living memory lasting only seven minutes but one which introduced a number of potentially legally binding guarantees with regards to UK public services. There were also a number of resolutions to control the power of the banking sector and the bonuses paid to those at the top, in what many people believed was a dumbing down to the UK electorate. So has Gordon Brown done enough to save himself?
Even before the Queen's speech was over many lawyers were already suggesting that these legally binding agreements between the government and the UK population, with regards to public services, would be very difficult to arrange. Lawyers appreciate that the UK courts will be very reticent to act in these particular circumstances which would effectively mean the promises by the government could be worthless.
As expected, many of the policies mentioned in the Queen's speech will never reach the statute book and will never even reach a vote in the House of Commons. In effect the starting pistol for the UK general election of 2010 has gone off and it looks to be a clear fight between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. They say 24 hours is a long time in politics, but six months seems like infinity at this moment in time!
Share this..
Related stories
Unite union calls for strike vote
It has been revealed that more than 20,000 construction staff are to be balloted about potential strike action as the situation regarding the use of foreign workers in the UK comes to a head. This is something which has been ongoing for some time and caused significant distress for companies, workers, unions and the government over the last six months. The latest blow comes as talks between the Un...
Read MoreWhat happens now with the Chelsea and Yorkshire building society merger?
Letters of explanation will be sent to Yorkshire and Chelsea building society members within the next 10 days explaining exactly what is on the table and what their voting options are. At least 75% of savers and 50% of borrowers must vote in favour of the deal for it to go ahead, at which point the transaction would be put to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for clearance. The merged oper...
Read MoreRoyal Bank of Scotland plans return for UK taxpayer investment
Stephen Hester, the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has promised UK taxpayers a return on their investment in the medium term. This comes despite the fact that bad debts have ballooned at the majority state-owned banking group and the company has again been forced to take further finance from the UK government. So what next for the Royal Bank of Scotland?
Despite bein...
Nissan cuts 25% of its Northeast workforce
News that car manufacturer Nissan is to make 25% of its workforce in the north-east of England redundant has sent shockwaves around the industry and the north-east in particular. Car manufacturing has been a major element of the replenishment of the area which took decades to recover from the death of mining. While the news does not come as a total surprise there had been little notice that anythi...
Read MoreNext Defies Recession as Share Prices Increase
Retail industry heavyweight Next defied the shrinking UK economy by posting impressive sales figures which have increased share prices across the company. The figures released from Next were so impressive they had Chief Executive Simon Wolfson refusing the notion that the UK is back in recession, and rubbishing talk that traditional retailers are in crisis. Figures from Next show that sales fo...
Read More