Debate on the Address

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Tuesday 25th May 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

Before I go on to the tributes, I welcome the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) to her new position. I enjoyed listening to her speech, but I felt that there was something missing. There was not one word of apology for the appalling mess that has been left in this country. She had nothing to say about leaving Britain with a deficit that is bigger than Greece’s—not a single idea for getting to grips with it. Until the Opposition learn what they got so badly wrong, I am not sure that people will listen to them again.

Whether we sit on the Government or the Opposition Benches, we have been sent here by our constituents to renew the British people’s faith in our democracy. All of us, whatever role we have to play in the House, share a responsibility to ensure that that renewal really happens.

When talking about our democracy, we should first remember those who do so much to defend it. Let me join the Leader of the Opposition and pay tribute to our troops who serve on the other side of the world, fighting day and night to keep us safe. Let us remember those who have fallen since we last met: from 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh, Fusilier Jonathan Burgess; from 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment, Corporal Harvey Holmes; from 21 Engineer Regiment, Sapper Daryn Roy and Lance Corporal Barry Buxton; and from 40 Commando Royal Marines, Corporal Christopher Harrison and Corporal Stephen Walker. They died serving our country. We will never forget what they did and we will always, always look after their families. I know that everyone in the House agrees that we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

I also join the right hon. and learned Lady in paying tribute to the two Members of Parliament who have died since the previous Gracious Speech in November, Ashok Kumar and David Taylor. Ashok Kumar was much loved by his constituents. He brought—a rare thing in the House—real scientific experience to our debates, which earned him respect in all parties. David Taylor was the model of an independent Back Bencher, never afraid to challenge authority or stand up for his constituents. They were a great credit to the House and we remember them with great affection.

I thought that the Loyal Address was proposed superbly by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley). That was a great speech and, like the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham I have tried to do my research. My right hon. Friend is a well known and passionate Eurosceptic, but I know his little secret: it was during the 1975 referendum campaign that he met his wife Gail. She was the local secretary of the European movement and was vigorously campaigning for a yes vote. As my right hon. Friend said, it is their wedding anniversary today. They have been happily married ever since. As someone who has recently got into bed with an ardent Europhile, I should perhaps ask my right hon. Friend’s advice about how to hold the relationship together over a long period of time—[Interruption.] The way you are going on, it might be.

I have also looked at some of the books that my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden has written during his extensive career. There are thrilling titles such as “The End of the Keynesian Era”, “Benefits and Costs: Securing the Future of Social Security”, “Delusions of Income Policy”—and then suddenly, as if from nowhere, “Common Sense on Cannabis”. I think that we will pass over that one.

The one book that I have been looking for is something that my right hon. Friend published in 1974, called “Lessons for Power”. The only problem is that the book has been so staggeringly successful that it is now out of print and unavailable. I contacted my right hon. Friend’s constituency office, but it did not have a copy.

In government, my right hon. Friend had a strong record of achievement as a Minister. I am very glad that the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham mentioned his work on overseas aid. He worked with Bob Geldof to transform the debate on that in the Conservative party. He did a great job, and in this House he remains a committed advocate for his constituents.

The Loyal Address was seconded—superbly, I thought—by the hon. Member for Bath (Mr Foster). As he said, this is the first time in over 70 years that a Liberal has either proposed or seconded a Loyal Address, since Captain Frank Medlicott did so in 1939. However, the hon. Gentleman did not give us the full picture. As far as I can see, after giving his speech the captain sank back into obscurity. He was barely heard of again and then, eight years later, he quietly joined the Conservative party.

I know that, like many people, the hon. Member for Bath is still coming to terms with the new arrangements in the House. However, now that our parties are sharing everything, I have managed to get hold of a copy of his election leaflet, in which he promised to

“fight against this new generation of Home Counties’ Conservatives”.

I cannot possibly think who he meant, but we are delighted to be sitting on the same Benches.

The hon. Member for Bath also tried to play his part in bringing the 2012 Olympics to London. The story goes that he was at Wimbledon, enjoying the hospitality and refreshments, when he was overheard having a heated debate with a young woman about where the games should be held. He argued passionately for London, and she argued vigorously for New York. He could not understand why she was so stubborn—until they were introduced, and he realised he was talking to Chelsea Clinton.

The hon. Gentleman has made a significant contribution to the education debate in our country. He is a powerful champion of international development, and I thought that both speeches were in the best traditions of this House—as was the speech of the acting Leader of the Opposition.

For me, the mystery remains: why is the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham not standing for the leadership of the Labour party? Is she really content to stand aside and leave a field of front runners that consists of two brothers and another man who stopped his wife standing? Surely she would start with a natural advantage. Of course, we hope that she could rely on the vote of her husband, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Jack Dromey), whom we welcome to his place today. As deputy general secretary of the Unite union, he would not yield just one vote, but 2 million votes. Never mind transferable tax allowances for married couples—this is far more significant. Let me pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman individually, as he has achieved something remarkable. He is, I think, the first man in history to win a constituency with an all-women shortlist.

For the first time since the Korean war, the Government have changed hands while our troops are at war. This is a vital year for Afghanistan’s future. We have had a troop surge in southern Afghanistan, where about 44,000 American forces are now fighting alongside around 9,000 British soldiers. What we need now is a political surge, with more effective and accountable government, a reformed Afghan police force and proper reconciliation at the centre. This Government will play a leading role in helping to bring that about. Already we have appointed that country’s first National Security Adviser. We have held meetings of the new National Security Council, and we will continue to work with the Afghan Government and our NATO partners—in particular the United States—to bring about success.

I was pleased that the first leader whom I hosted as Prime Minister was President Karzai. Our aim is clear—it is to create the stability and security that are in our national interest and that will enable us to bring our troops back home. A stable Afghanistan, free from terrorist training camps, is vital to our security, and so is an Iran free from nuclear weapons. All the evidence points in the same direction—that Iran is intent on developing nuclear weapons. Even if Iran were to complete the deal proposed in its recent agreement with Turkey and Brazil, it would still retain around 50% of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium. It is that stockpile that could be enriched to weapons-grade uranium.

For the last six years, we have pursued a twin-track policy, offering engagement but being prepared to apply pressure. It is time to ratchet up that pressure and the timetable is short. This Government have a clear objective to ensure stronger UN and EU sanctions against Iran. Specific areas should be covered, including trade finance, asset freezes and action against banks that hold funds for the Iranian regime. I have discussed this and other issues with President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel, and what is needed for European nations to rise to those and other challenges—be they climate change or economic stability—is not another treaty, but political will and practical engagement.

On the subject of EU treaties, let me be clear. Under our proposed Bill, any future treaty that transfers power to the European Union will be subject to a referendum. Never again will a Government be able to surrender sovereignty to Brussels without the full consent of the British people.

This Queen’s Speech is the first in 65 years from a coalition Government. It is a Government driven not by party interest but by the national interest, with clear values at its heart—[Interruption.] Those values include freedom, because over the past decade the state has become over-mighty and our liberties have been undermined consistently by the Labour party. They include fairness, because after 13 years of a Labour Government inequality is wider, social mobility has stalled, severe poverty is rising and social justice is falling. The third value at the heart of this Queen’s Speech is responsibility, because under Labour the age of irresponsibility broke our society and left our economy deep in debt.

[Mr David Blunkett (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)]

On the issue of fairness and responsibility and given that 50% of the funding for the child trust fund would benefit 1.5 million of the most disadvantaged families, is it fair that the Cabinet, who are asset-rich, should take away from those who are asset-poor?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman has to understand that, in the words of the outgoing Chief Secretary, we have run out of money—[Interruption.] I do not know what they are shouting about. The Labour Government left us with a budget deficit of £160 billion. Of course the child trust fund was a good idea when it was thought up, but today it means that when a child is born we are borrowing money to put into that child’s bank account. You broke the nation so badly that we cannot continue with such schemes.

The Queen’s Speech has these values running right through it in each and every Bill—devolving power, not centralising it; trusting people, not dictating to them; and saving money, not wasting it. It is a radical programme for a radical Government, and that is exactly what our country needs.

[Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way and may I congratulate him on his recent promotion?

I and many of my colleagues were looking forward to an opportunity in this Parliament to reaffirm our support for the Hunting Act 2004, and I understand that many of his Back Benchers were also looking forward to an opportunity to express their view on it. Is there any particular reason why repeal of the Act was not included in the Queen’s Speech?

[The Prime Minister]

There will be a free vote on a motion of the House of Commons and all Members will be able to take part, voting according to their conscience, as they should on this issue.

[Mr David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab)]

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that the proposal for a 55% rule to prolong the life of this Parliament is totally unacceptable? It is a travesty of parliamentary democracy, and if it goes ahead we will see what the 2010 House of Commons is made of.

[The Prime Minister]

Perhaps I could remind the hon. Gentleman of two important points. First, in its manifesto, the Labour party supported fixed-term Parliaments. Secondly, in order to entrench fixed-term Parliaments in Scotland, almost every Member opposite who was there at the time voted for a 66%, rather than a 55%, threshold. Let me give a little warning: I can tell you, having sat on the Opposition Benches for the past nine years, that opportunism does not work. [Interruption.] It did not take them very long! The context of our Government is an appalling legacy left by Labour. I shall quote in full the letter left to his successor by the former Chief Secretary, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne):

“Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards and good luck.”

Those 13 words sum up 13 years of complete cavalier arrogance with the taxpayers’ money.

This Queen’s Speech, put forward by this new Government, is the first step towards putting things right. This country will get the complete opposite of what went before—not spending money for the sake of it, but spending it wisely and saving it; not top-down control and big government, but bottom-up change and the big society; not power for politicians, but power to the people.

[Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister remain in an alliance in Europe with parties that his Deputy Prime Minister described as “nutters” and “anti-Semites”?

[The Prime Minister]

The answer is yes, but I have been waiting for this question. For five years, I sat listening to all the right hon. Gentleman’s questions to the former Labour Prime Ministers on this issue, and never once was I able to remind him of some of the people his party sits with in the European Parliament, so I hope the House will indulge me. Labour is allied to the Lithuanian Social Democratic party, one of whose MPs said:

“As a doctor, I think that”

homosexuality “is a disease”.

I think that is a disgusting point of view. And that is who you sit with; that is who the right hon. Gentleman sits with.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is it in order for the Prime Minister to continue his practice in opposition of using the word “you” to describe Members on the opposite side of the House?

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the hon. Gentleman is that it is not in order, but I know that the Prime Minister is not going to do it again anyway.

[The Prime Minister]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I shall endeavour to do my best.

Let me give one other example. In the last Parliament, while the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr MacShane) was making all these points, Labour was allied to the Self Defence of the Republic of Poland party, whose leader, Andrzej Lepper, said that

“Hitler had a really good programme”.

Those are Labour’s allies in the European Parliament. I think we have heard enough from the right hon. Gentleman for another five years.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Simon Hughes]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on his new office, and he was right to criticise some of the legacy of the Labour party. Can he therefore give the House and the country an assurance that we will do better in his Government at building council housing and providing affordable housing in rural constituencies such as his, as well as in urban constituencies such as mine?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question, although I hope that before long he will be referring to it as “our Government” rather than “his Government”. You are absolutely right—[Hon. Members: “Wooh!] Sorry, he is absolutely right—I will get the hang of it eventually—and we will be prioritising social housing, not least because the last Government left a huge black hole that they refused to fund—

[Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Failed miserably, failed miserably!

[The Prime Minister]

I ask the hon. Gentleman to calm down.

Some of the £6 billion in savings that we have found will be put back into the social housing that Labour promised and never delivered.

Nothing will better sum up the clean break that this Government will make with the past than our freedom Bill. We will repeal ridiculous laws that allow a never-ending list of public bodies, from local councils to quangos, to enter people’s homes without permission. We will scrap Labour’s plans for ID cards and, after the Labour Government failed to act for so many years, we will end the incarceration of children for immigration purposes once and for all.

We are going to bring the same spirit of radical change to the biggest challenge of all: sorting out the mess that Labour has made of our economy. Everything that the previous Government told us was wrong. They told us that they had abolished boom and bust, but they gave us the longest and deepest recession on record. They reassured us that we were better prepared for this recession than other countries, yet we were one of the first countries into recession and one of the last countries out of recession, and we have one of the weakest recoveries. They promised us prudence, but they left us with the largest UK budget deficit in peacetime history. They lectured us about their golden rules, but in the end the only golden rule was: “Never trust Labour with the economy of this country”.

It stops now—no more spending beyond our means; no more reckless borrowing; no more taxing of the poorest to pay for the mistakes of the few. In just two weeks, this Government have done more for our economy than Labour managed in the last two years. We have changed the way Budgets are written, by establishing a new Office for Budget Responsibility, which will stop any Chancellor fiddling the figures ever again in our history. We have launched and completed an in-year spending review to save £6 billion of waste—waste that Labour still says is vital to our recovery. What a ridiculous argument. Do Labour Members really think that the £125 million a year that we discovered the previous Government were spending on taxis, the £320 million that they spent on hotel bills or the £7 million spent by one Department on stationery are necessary? Are all these luxuries somehow essential to firing the engines of our economy? Of course they are not, and it is right that they are being reduced.

It is because we have found these savings that we can stop one of the most stupid, reckless and irresponsible tax rises ever dreamt up in the middle of a recession, which was the idea of putting up national insurance on every job in our country. With this coalition Government, that jobs tax is going. That is what we have done in the last two weeks.

[Christopher Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)]

I would be grateful if the Prime Minister could confirm that his Government have no plans to raise VAT.

[The Prime Minister]

The whole point is that we are getting to grips with spending so that we do not have to put up taxes. The only people I remember with a plan to raise VAT were the last Government, who actually published it, although to be fair to the hon. Gentleman, he had lost his first seat then—and we are all looking forward to him losing his second one.

That is what we have done in two weeks; the Queen’s Speech shows what we will do in the next two years. We are going to bring some law and order to the banking system, which Labour allowed to wreck our economy. There will be more powers to the Bank of England, in our financial services regulation Bill. We will get to grips with the unacceptable bonus culture and open up credit lines for small businesses. We want to ensure that our banks serve our economy, rather than the other way round. We are going to change our whole economy, so that it is not built on debt and waste, but instead on savings and investment.

Our energy security and green economy Bill will mean more energy efficiency in our homes and our businesses. From the savings that we have already identified, we will make £50 million available for the building and refurbishment of further education colleges. One of the last acts of the previous Government was to completely bungle that building programme. One of the first acts of the new Government will be to start putting that wrong right. If we add to that high-speed rail, an interactive energy grid, corporation tax cuts and super-fast broadband, we will get a completely new economy and a Britain that is back open for business.

And one last thing: we will finally bring justice to the Equitable Life policyholders—people who were shamelessly betrayed, year after year, by the bunch of people sitting there on the Opposition Front Bench.

The Government we have just had were not just disastrous for our economy; they were bad for our society, too. This Queen’s Speech marks a decisive shift from the past, treating not just the symptoms of what is broken in our society, but its root causes. In Britain today there are families better off on benefits than in work and couples with children being paid more to live apart. We have taxpayers who go out to work, earning just £15,000 or £16,000, and are expected to carry on supporting people who refuse to work. All these things need to change. Our welfare reform Bill will begin the process of benefit reform.

The programme that we have set out in this Queen’s Speech will mean real changes straight away in our schools, too.

[Bob Russell]

Will the Prime Minister confirm that, after 13 years of a Labour Government, the gap between rich and poor had widened, and that the number of children living in poverty was among the worst in Europe—worse than that of Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely right, and worse than that—[Interruption.] The former Health Secretary says that he is wrong. That shows how out of touch they are: they do not even know the damage that their Government did. We can add to that the fact that there are more children here in households where nobody works than in any other country in Europe. That is the record that they have left, and that is the record that we want to put right. So before the summer, we want to pass an education Bill that allows our best schools to reopen as academies straight away. We will not stop there. There is going to be greater freedom for all schools, radical reform so that new schools can be established, more trust for teachers and, through our pupil premium, we will make sure that extra funding goes to the poorest pupils.

We will radically reform all our public services so that they serve the public, not bureaucrats in Whitehall. We are going to do things in a completely different way from what has gone before, dismantling the top-down apparatus of state control and bringing in real choice and accountability. So with policing, out go centralisation, unnecessary paperwork and central targets, and in come beat-based police meetings and elected individuals as police commissioners. With the NHS, out go centrally directed hospital closures and politically motivated targets, and in come full patient choice and elections for your primary care trust. And that is not all. Because we are getting rid of Labour’s jobs tax, we can now afford to fund the cancer drugs that people have desperately needed for so long, to extend life and give hope to thousands of people in our country.

This Queen’s Speech addresses problems not only in our economy and our society but in our politics, too. It includes a comprehensive programme for pushing power downwards and outwards from this place. That is what the decentralisation and localism Bill is all about. Already we have shown our intent: the imposition of new unitary councils—going; regional spatial strategies—going; home information packs—gone; comprehensive area assessments—going; Standards Board bureaucracy—going; the excessive ring-fencing of local council budgets, and treating local government like infants—gone. We will be the Government who give politics and power back to the people. Not only will we push power outwards; we will also sort out the other issues that brought this House into disrepute, with a clampdown on lobbying and the right for constituents to recall any MP found guilty of serious wrongdoing.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister confirm that he will support the devolution of further powers to the Welsh Assembly?

[The Prime Minister]

What we are going to do is allow the referendum to go ahead that was actually rather held up by the last Government. So yes, a date will be named for that referendum and I believe that it should be held next year. There should be a free and open debate in Wales for that to happen.

[Ian Lucas]

I am sure that it was just an oversight, but the right hon. Gentleman did not actually answer my question. Will he support the devolution of further powers to the Welsh Assembly?

[The Prime Minister]

I have got two homes, but I am afraid that neither of them is in Wales, so I will not actually be able to vote.

The right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham mentioned the Wright reforms. We will ensure that Select Committee Chairmen and members are voted for by Members of Parliament and not appointed by the Whips. I have mentioned fixed-term Parliaments; we will be legislating for that, and also for a referendum on the voting system. So our political reform is all about cleaning up Parliament, and passing powers from the Executive to the legislature and from the legislature to the people.

[Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman explain how setting an artificially high level to defeat the Government in this House in a no-confidence motion can look like anything other than gerrymandering, when he is cutting the number of MPs in this House and appointing more peers in the other place, allegedly to save money? How is that new politics?

[The Prime Minister]

I am the first Prime Minister in British history to give up the right to go to the Palace to choose an election at a time that suits them. Everyone in the Opposition stood on a promise in their manifesto to introduce a fixed-term Parliament. If there is to be a fixed-term Parliament, there has to be some way of trying to make sure that it is a fixed-term Parliament. That is why the hon. Lady voted to support a 66% threshold for the Scottish Parliament.

[Maria Eagle]

rose—

[The Prime Minister]

I will happily give way again, but let me make one more point first. Do Opposition Members really want to go through the whole experience of 2007 again, when we had a Prime Minister wondering whether the time was right for wandering off to the Palace and whether or not they would win? I quite enjoyed 2007, I really did. It was great for Conservative Members. Does the hon. Lady want to go through that again?

[Maria Eagle]

I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman can convince the country that he is not really trying to stitch up a majority in the Commons for a lot longer than he might truly own one. If he is appointing new peers to ensure that the coalition has a majority in the House of Lords, while at the same time requiring a Commons vote of more than 55%, which is more than all the Opposition parties can muster, before the Government can fall, is it not stitching up the House and—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I remind the House that interventions must be brief.

[The Prime Minister]

I am not quite sure where to start, Mr. Speaker. As for appointing peers, let me remind the hon. Lady that previous Governments, particularly that of Tony Blair, appointed more peers than any Prime Minister in British history. What is more, the Labour party had 13 years to reform the House of Lords and completely failed in something this Government are going to achieve. Let me explain that we are not taking away Parliament’s right to throw out the Government; we are taking away the Government’s right to throw out the Parliament. That is why it is about giving power from the Prime Minister to the legislature. If it is such a bad idea, why did every Labour Member put it in their manifesto and stand for it at the last election?

[Kevin Brennan]

rose—

[The Prime Minister]

No, I have given way enough.

As this Government start the job of building our country’s future, the Labour party is clearly thinking about its own future. As experts in leadership elections, we shall be watching with interest. I have to say, however, that if Labour thinks that having a leadership election is the answer to its problems, it is wrong. The truth is that it is not the leader that is the problem; it is Labour. The whole approach has been wrong—the idea that for every problem there is a bottomless pit of public money, that for every situation there is a Government solution and for every issue there is a Whitehall initiative. It ended up giving us an economy that is nearly bankrupt, a society that is broken and a political system that is bust. That is why this coalition has come together—because this country needs strong, stable government to sort out the mess that the Labour Government made. They gave us big spending; we will bring good housekeeping. They trusted in bureaucracy, we will trust in community. They governed in the party interest; we will govern in the national interest.

This Queen’s Speech marks an end to the years of recklessness and big government and the beginning of the years of responsibility and good government. It takes the deficit head-on; it shows the world that Britain is reopening for business; it tackles the causes of our social problems; it means better schools for our children, real hope for those out of work and a stronger NHS for everyone; and its means having a Parliament that belongs to the people, not the politicians. It means a new start for Britain, and I commend it to the House.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You said earlier that for the sake of accuracy you had managed to obtain a copy of the Queen’s Speech. You need not have done any such thing, as you might just as well have bought a copy of The Sunday Telegraph. Will you confirm that this is the first time that a draft of the Queen’s Speech has ever been leaked to a national newspaper? Will you personally conduct an investigation to find out whether it was leaked from No. 10 Downing street and whether any money changed hands in connection with it? You rightly used to excoriate Labour Ministers if ever we made announcements before making them to this House, so will you make sure that that lot over there do not announce things to the press—as they have done, day in, day out over the past 10 days—without first bringing them before this House?