Queens Speech starts parliamentary year
27/05/2015
The Conservative-only Queens Speech marked the start of the parliamentary year today, and set out the governments agenda for the upcoming five years, announcing proposed polices and legislation.
Included in the proposals were; a cut to the total amount a household can claim in benefits from £26,000 to £23,000, more devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 30 hours free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds by 2017 and a ban on income tax, VAT and national insurance increases for five years. The Right to Buy scheme will also be extended to include housing association tenants.
A Trade Unions Bill was also announced, imposing a 50% turnout threshold on strike ballots, with a further requirement in essential public services for strikes to be supported by 40% of those entitled to vote.
Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed the speech contains “a program for working people” and will help create to full employment and “bring our country together”.
Cameron will now be able to impose plans previously blocked by the Liberal Democrats after winning an overall majority on 7 May, including a Investigatory Powers Bill which gives the government more powers to target internet data, nicknamed the “snoopers charter”.
David Cameron said:
"We have a golden opportunity to renew the idea that working people are backed in this country; to renew the promise to those least fortunate that they will have the opportunity for a brighter future; and to renew the ties that bind every part of our United Kingdom.
"We now have the mandate to deliver that renewal. And it starts with this Queen's Speech."
Need financial advice?/p>
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Vince Cable cuts automotive industry adrift
Business secretary Vince Cable has this evening cut adrift the UK automotive industry with a suggestion that state aid for the sector has come to an end. This is an unwelcome reminder of forthcoming cutbacks in the UK government budget although it has to be said that previous assistance offered by Gordon Brown and his Labour government did prove very successful and did put the sector back on a mor...
Read MoreUK GDP revised upwards again
UK GDP (gross domestic product) for the final quarter of 2009 gave Chancellor Alistair Darling a boost today after it was revised upwards from 0.3% growth to 0.4%. While a 0.1% increase in the GDP figure for the final quarter of 2009 may seem irrelevant in the overall picture of the UK recession, it gives the impression that the UK economy is perhaps growing faster than many people had thought....
Read MoreHow will UK public services fare in the short to medium term?
Even though we may be a number of months away from the next UK general election, the battleground has already been drawn with Labour and the Conservative party at loggerheads over potential public sector service cuts and the impact this will have. Even though the Labour Party had been adamant that no cuts would be forthcoming in the short to medium term, Gordon Brown was this week forced to backtr...
Read MoreWhy is the worldwide economy still so shaky?
Only days after governments around the world tempted to call an end to the worldwide recession there is talk of credit crunch part two after the revelation that the Dubai authorities may well need to default on their ever-growing debt pile. It seems bizarre that a relatively small state which has invested substantially to attract overseas investors and overseas businesses is now putting the worldw...
Read MoreWhat will happen to the UK currency in the short to medium term?
As the UK economy is officially in recession there are serious concerns about the future direction of the UK currency. As UK national continues to move higher and higher, with some experts suggesting it will end up anywhere between £1 trillion and £3 trillion, domestic and overseas investors seem set to shun the UK for the foreseeable future. It has also been revealed that an influential select...
Read More