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| Queen's Speech: Politics live blog | Queen's Speech: Politics live blog |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.13am: Last week, in an interview with the Evening Standard, David Cameron gave the impression that he would be happy for the coalition to continue after 2015. This is what he said. | |
| When it comes to the next election, do you want a Conservative-led government, or to go backwards with Labour or waste your votes on one of these other parties, that is the key question. | |
| The reference to a "Conservative-led" government infuriated some Tory MPs and today, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Cameron has tried to repair the damage. He repeatedly mentioned his desire to see a "Conservative-only" government and he blamed the Lib Dems for the fact that his programme wasn't more Tory. | |
| 'There is a growing list of things that I want to do but can't, which will form the basis of the Conservative manifesto that I will campaign for right up and down the country,' the prime minister said. 'Be in no doubt, I want a Tory-only government' ... | |
| Directly addressing senior Conservative MPs who unveiled an alternative Queen's Speech featuring traditional Tory policies at the weekend, the prime minister declared: 'I completely understand your frustrations, but let's be clear: We've taken on some areas like reforming student finance, reforming public sector pensions, freezing public sector pay. | |
| 'These are things that previous Conservative governments weren't able to do. | |
| 'Hell, I even vetoed an EU treaty. So I would say to Conservatives, I know it's frustrating. | |
| 'I share your frustration. I want a Conservative-only government.' | |
Cameron seems to have spoken to the Daily Mail shortly before he went to Essex with Nick Clegg to "renew the coalition wedding vows". I suppose the interview is the political equivalent of Cameron ringing up an old girlfriend on his wedding night to tell her that she's still his true love. | |
| 10.00am: David Cameron and Nick Clegg have been telling us in recent days that they are not obsessed with Lords reform. Unfortunately for them, the BBC keeps mentioning Lords reform right at the start of all its news items about the Queen's Speech. Number 10 aren't spinning this very successfully. | |
| 9.49am: The Queen's Speech used to take place at the end of the year, normally in November. But the government has moved it to May so that the parliamentary year is now in synch with the electoral calender. Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act, general elections are always supposed to be held in May. Previously a May election normally resulted in the session of parliaement beforehand being very short and the first one of the new session being very long. | 9.49am: The Queen's Speech used to take place at the end of the year, normally in November. But the government has moved it to May so that the parliamentary year is now in synch with the electoral calender. Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act, general elections are always supposed to be held in May. Previously a May election normally resulted in the session of parliaement beforehand being very short and the first one of the new session being very long. |
| But Lord Knight, a Labour peer, has spotted a problem. | But Lord Knight, a Labour peer, has spotted a problem. |
| Lots of noble excitement at being the centre of attention - will this be the beginning of the end of the ceremony in this overly warm ermine | Lots of noble excitement at being the centre of attention - will this be the beginning of the end of the ceremony in this overly warm ermine |
| — Jim Knight (@jimpknight) May 9, 2012 | — Jim Knight (@jimpknight) May 9, 2012 |
| 9.38am: The Times has got a cracking story today: the revelation that David Cameron sent a text to Rebekah Brooks shortly before she resigned as chief executive of News International telling her to keep her head up. My colleague Patrick Wintour has filed a story with full details. The Times story comes from an updated version of a biography of Cameron. Here's an extract from their story (paywall). | 9.38am: The Times has got a cracking story today: the revelation that David Cameron sent a text to Rebekah Brooks shortly before she resigned as chief executive of News International telling her to keep her head up. My colleague Patrick Wintour has filed a story with full details. The Times story comes from an updated version of a biography of Cameron. Here's an extract from their story (paywall). |
The book, Cameron: Practically a Conservative by Francis Elliott of The Times and James Hanning of The Independent on Sunday, details how Mr Cameron and Mrs Brooks would often "pop round to one another's houses" in south Oxfordshire. | The book, Cameron: Practically a Conservative by Francis Elliott of The Times and James Hanning of The Independent on Sunday, details how Mr Cameron and Mrs Brooks would often "pop round to one another's houses" in south Oxfordshire. |
| "The wider public might have liked to know too of the text message that Charlie Brooks told friends Cameron sent to Brooks at the beginning of the week in which she resigned, telling her to keep her head up and she'd get through her difficulties," the authors add. | "The wider public might have liked to know too of the text message that Charlie Brooks told friends Cameron sent to Brooks at the beginning of the week in which she resigned, telling her to keep her head up and she'd get through her difficulties," the authors add. |
| "Such contact came to an abrupt halt soon afterwards, with Brooks not wanting to embarrass Cameron and he wanting to be able to say, hand on heart, that they had not been in touch. | "Such contact came to an abrupt halt soon afterwards, with Brooks not wanting to embarrass Cameron and he wanting to be able to say, hand on heart, that they had not been in touch. |
| "But it was claimed that Cameron did send an emissary to Brooks to mitigate his sudden coldness towards her. The gist of the message was, 'Sorry I couldn't have been as loyal to you as you have been to me, but Ed Miliband had me on the run'." ... | "But it was claimed that Cameron did send an emissary to Brooks to mitigate his sudden coldness towards her. The gist of the message was, 'Sorry I couldn't have been as loyal to you as you have been to me, but Ed Miliband had me on the run'." ... |
| In May 2011, Mr Cameron asked Scotland Yard to open a review into the Madeleine McCann case, a cause supported by The Sun, also owned by News International. The authors suggest that a debt was being repaid for The Sun's decision to back the Conservatives at the 2010 general election. | In May 2011, Mr Cameron asked Scotland Yard to open a review into the Madeleine McCann case, a cause supported by The Sun, also owned by News International. The authors suggest that a debt was being repaid for The Sun's decision to back the Conservatives at the 2010 general election. |
| "There was definitely a feeling that Rebekah felt the PM owed them," the authors quote someone intimately involved. | "There was definitely a feeling that Rebekah felt the PM owed them," the authors quote someone intimately involved. |
| 9.23am: The government is saying it wants to reach consensus on Lords reform. On the BBC News, Lord Richard, the Labour former leader of the Lords, has just said that this amounted to the bill being kicked "into the long, long grass". There is no chance of getting the Lords and the Commons to agree, he said. | 9.23am: The government is saying it wants to reach consensus on Lords reform. On the BBC News, Lord Richard, the Labour former leader of the Lords, has just said that this amounted to the bill being kicked "into the long, long grass". There is no chance of getting the Lords and the Commons to agree, he said. |
| 9.15am: For the record, here are the YouGov GB polling figures from last night. | 9.15am: For the record, here are the YouGov GB polling figures from last night. |
| Labour: 44% (up 1 points from YouGov in the Sunday Times) Conservatives: 31% (no change) Lib Dems: 8% (down 1) Ukip: 8% (no change) | Labour: 44% (up 1 points from YouGov in the Sunday Times) Conservatives: 31% (no change) Lib Dems: 8% (down 1) Ukip: 8% (no change) |
| Labour lead: 13 points | Labour lead: 13 points |
| Government approval: -43 | Government approval: -43 |
| As Anthony Wells says at UK Polling Report, 13 points is as large as Labour's lead has ever been in YouGov polls since the general election. Labour has had a 13-point lead only twice before, both times in April. | As Anthony Wells says at UK Polling Report, 13 points is as large as Labour's lead has ever been in YouGov polls since the general election. Labour has had a 13-point lead only twice before, both times in April. |
| 8.50am: In America the key political speech setting out the executive's programme for the year is the State of the Union address. It's delivered by the president and it usually contains some soaring rhetoric. In Britain the equivalent is the Queen's Speech. It's called a speech, but actually it's just a very short list of measures, glued together with some platitudes. They are extraordinarily boring. If you don't believe me, you can read some of the old ones here, going back almost 20 years. | 8.50am: In America the key political speech setting out the executive's programme for the year is the State of the Union address. It's delivered by the president and it usually contains some soaring rhetoric. In Britain the equivalent is the Queen's Speech. It's called a speech, but actually it's just a very short list of measures, glued together with some platitudes. They are extraordinarily boring. If you don't believe me, you can read some of the old ones here, going back almost 20 years. |
| So why are we getting all excited? Because it's a statement about what parliament is going to be doing for the next 12 months. It is easy to exaggerate the importance of this - although we will get a list of bills this morning, we will get precious little detail about them, and there is nothing to stop the government introducing new legislation not mentioned in the Queen's Speech as this session of parliament goes on - but, in drafting the Queen's Speech, the government has had to take decisions about what to put in and what to leave out. We will learn something about its priorities. | So why are we getting all excited? Because it's a statement about what parliament is going to be doing for the next 12 months. It is easy to exaggerate the importance of this - although we will get a list of bills this morning, we will get precious little detail about them, and there is nothing to stop the government introducing new legislation not mentioned in the Queen's Speech as this session of parliament goes on - but, in drafting the Queen's Speech, the government has had to take decisions about what to put in and what to leave out. We will learn something about its priorities. |
| But, to be honest, it's also a bit of fun. The Queen speaks at 11.30am and at 2.30pm MPs begin the debate on the loyal address. It starts with speeches from two backbenchers, and then Ed Miliband and David Cameron open the debate properly. They are big political speeches but, in footballing terms, it's more of a friendly than a cup final. The speeches are expected to be quite funny, and for a day MPs can wallow in the silly traditions, the hats, the frocks, Siliver Stick, the Cap of Maintenance, all that ceremonial nonsense, and even the traditional Dennis Skinner joke when Black Rod turns up in the Commons to summon MPs to the Lords to hear the Queen. | But, to be honest, it's also a bit of fun. The Queen speaks at 11.30am and at 2.30pm MPs begin the debate on the loyal address. It starts with speeches from two backbenchers, and then Ed Miliband and David Cameron open the debate properly. They are big political speeches but, in footballing terms, it's more of a friendly than a cup final. The speeches are expected to be quite funny, and for a day MPs can wallow in the silly traditions, the hats, the frocks, Siliver Stick, the Cap of Maintenance, all that ceremonial nonsense, and even the traditional Dennis Skinner joke when Black Rod turns up in the Commons to summon MPs to the Lords to hear the Queen. |
| Here's our preview of what the Queen's Speech is going to contain. | Here's our preview of what the Queen's Speech is going to contain. |
| I'll be focusing on the Queen's Speech and the subsequent debate today, but I'll also be looking at the papers and covering any other breaking political news. I'll post a summary at about 1pm and another after Cameron's speech in the Commons this afternoon is over. | I'll be focusing on the Queen's Speech and the subsequent debate today, but I'll also be looking at the papers and covering any other breaking political news. I'll post a summary at about 1pm and another after Cameron's speech in the Commons this afternoon is over. |
| If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. |
| And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. | And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. |