PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

15 Debate on the Address
9 MAY 2012
Debate on the Address
16
[Edward Miliband]
Speech, but they have not. Utility bills, water bills and
the cost of getting to work are worrying families up and
down the country—
Several hon. Members rose—
Edward Miliband: Opposition Members should calm
down: I will give way later.
What have the Government got to say about those
issues? Absolutely nothing. The energy Bill has nothing
to help people struggling to make ends meet. No legislation
this year on water or on train fares—nothing to relieve
the squeeze on ordinary families.
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): I, too, am concerned
about utility bills—we are all concerned about utility
bills—but let me remind the right hon. Gentleman that
when he was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
Change he proposed the renewable heating initiative
that would have put £193 on people’s bills. Why was
that not in his alternative Queen’s Speech?
Edward Miliband: I will tell the hon. Gentleman what
we did in government: we introduced the winter fuel
allowance and took action on pre-payment meters—far
more than this Government have ever done.
Let us talk about those at the top of society, executive
pay and multi-million pound bonuses—[Interruption.]
It is very interesting that Conservative Members are
groaning about that, because a few months ago, the
Prime Minister said that he was outraged about crony
capitalism. He told us that he was grossly offended by it
and that it was not what he believed in. Such was his
strength of feeling that in the entire Queen’s Speech, the
issue did not merit a single mention.
I have a suggestion for the Prime Minister. He should
accept the recommendation of the High Pay Commission
to put an ordinary worker on the remuneration committee
of every company in Britain. I say, “If you can’t look
one of your employees in the eye to justify that you’re
worth it, then you shouldn’t be getting the salary.” Come
to think of it, why not start with the Government? I
have the ideal candidate to be the employee on the board
judging the Cabinet. She stands ready to serve—the hon.
Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries). Let us
remind ourselves why she is so well qualified. She said:
“They are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no
contrition, and no passion to understand the lives of others.”
She is only saying what so many people are thinking: it
is high time the shareholder spring came to the Conservative
party.
On the economy, on living standards, and on executive
pay—
Louise Mensch (Corby) (Con): The right hon. Gentleman
is coming on to the economy, so, since the shadow
Chancellor cannot enlighten us, will he tell the House
how he is coming along with costing his economic
programme?
Edward Miliband: I am glad that the hon. Lady
intervened, because this is what she said about the
election results:
“As Conservatives, we have to learn lessons…In the spirit of
non-spin, my benchmark for Labour was 700 seats”.
I think we slightly outperformed her expectations.
Several hon. Members rose—
Edward Miliband: I have been generous in giving way.
On all the major issues, the Government have shown
that they are out of touch. If we need any further proof,
let us consider what they have done on crime—taking
police off the streets with 20% cuts and stripping back
powers on antisocial behaviour.
Let me turn to one of the biggest omissions in the
Queen’s Speech. There is no bigger challenge facing
families up and down the country than care for elderly
relatives, and there was no clearer promise from the
Government than that they would legislate on it.
[Interruption.] I know Government Members do not
want to talk about what is happening in the Government,
but in their foreword to the health White Paper, the
Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister said that
there would be
“legislation in the second session of this parliament to establish a
sustainable legal and financial framework for adult social care”.
Instead, we have nothing. [Interruption.] The Prime
Minister says there is a draft Bill, but he said he would
legislate in this Session, and he has failed to do so. They
have totally failed to do so. There was a clear promise.
[Interruption.] The Prime Minister should calm down.
They promised a Bill on social care, but they chose not
to include one.
There is room in the Queen’s Speech for House of
Lords reform, however. I am a supporter of House of
Lords reform and a referendum, but I thought that a
Queen’s Speech was supposed to define a Government’s
priorities. So there is a mystery that the Prime Minister
needs to explain in his reply. Over the weekend, the
Chancellor said that House of Lords reform
“is certainly not my priority, it is not the priority of the Government.”
So it is not the Conservative party’s priority. But the
mystery deepens, because the Deputy Prime Minister
said yesterday that there were many, many other things
he cared far more about. So apparently it is not his
priority either. [Interruption.] Government Members
ask if it is our priority. No, it is not. I am bound to ask,
though: if it is not a priority, how on earth did it end up
in the Queen’s Speech? I thought the Queen’s Speech
was supposed to define the priorities for the Government’s
legislative programme. Why is it in there? How did it get
into the speech?
What about the things that did not make it into the
Queen’s Speech? How about the manifesto promise—the
Prime Minister’s detoxification promise—to enshrine
in law spending 0.7% of national income on aid.
[Interruption.] They are not putting it in law. [Interruption.]
The Prime Minister keeps saying he is doing it, when all
he is doing is publishing draft Bills. And what has
happened to something that used to be a big priority for
the Prime Minister? He said in 2010 that lobbying was
“the next big scandal waiting to happen.”
He was right. It did happen—to him: Adam Werritty,
whose lobbying caused the downfall of the Defence
Secretary; Peter Cruddas, Tory party treasurer, offering