“You can’t empower local government if you impoverish it” – Harriet Harman’s response to the Queen’s Speech

Harriet Harman, who is the interim Labour leader, today gave her party’s response to the Government’s Queen’s Speech.

In it, she directed a number of jibes to the Tories, saying to David Cameron “we are both, by our own admission, interim leaders” in reference to his announcement prior to the election that he wouldn’t serve the full five years as leader.

She made it clear that Labour were intent on holding the Government to account and she argued that changes to funding couldn’t just be “rigged in favour of the Tory party.”

On devolution she said “you can’t empower local government if you impoverish it”, before going on to reiterate Labour’s decision to support an EU referendum calling for votes to 16- and 17-year-olds.

You can watch the full speech here:

 

And you can read the full text of the speech here:

Mr Speaker, I am sure the whole House will want to pay tribute to our Armed Forces.
Since the last Queen’s Speech, UK military operations in Afghanistan have come to an end.
453 British Servicemen and women lost their lives in that campaign and many more were injured.
They served with valour and they deserve our gratitude.
We honour them here today.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with their families, to whom we pledge our enduring support.
Mr Speaker, I want to congratulate the mover and seconder of the Queen’s Speech.
Traditionally the seconder is a rising star with a bright future ahead of them, and the mover is someone of great distinction with an illustrious career behind them.

So it’s a pleasure to congratulate the Rt Hon Member for Chelmsford as the mover of this Queen’s Speech.

He came into the House in 1987, shortly after I did.

I remember it well Mr Speaker, because he cut a real dash then.

Many of us, well me actually – thought he looked like a young Robert Redford.

I know these days he is a bit more Jeremy Clarkson, but believe me – back in the day he was a real head-turner.

As everyone could hear from his speech, he is outspoken, engaging and irrpresible.

He was Public Health Minister but he didn’t let that stop him smoking. It was the red box in one hand, and a cigarette in the other.

And the fact that he is a Tory, has never stopped him being a passionate supporter of the US Democrats and Hilary Clinton’s number one fan.

And his good humour didn’t desert him, even when he was Rail Minister dealing with the vexed issue of HS2.

Nothing will stop him speaking his mind…except possibly you Mr Speaker.

At a time when we politicians are thought of as ‘all the same’ – too cautious, too guarded – no one could ever say that about him.

He made a fine speech today and I congratulate him for it.

I also congratulate the Seconder of the Motion, the Hon Member for South East Cornwall.

She was elected in 2010 the first woman to represent her constituency, and only the sixth women ever elected in Cornwall.

We are all here to bring the issues of concern of our own constituencies to the heart of Parliament.

She is a fine example of that when she speaks about her beloved county of Cornwall, or as we now know it, the County of Poldark.

And she doesn’t just speak up for them – she gets things done for them.

It’s hard to believe that someone who was only elected for the first time in 2010 has already got two Bills put into law: The Marine Navigation Act and the Deep Sea Mining Act.

She comes from those Cornish fishing communities and shares not only their joys but their sorrows.
When, only one year after she was elected, her husband was killed in a fishing accident, we all admired the tremendous courage she showed in the face of such a tragic loss.
Her speech showed her as she is – brave, determined and human.
At a time when people are sceptical about politicians, she is a credit to this House.
I congratulate the Rt Hon Member for Whitney. He returns to this House as Prime Minister.
Although he and I have many differences, people have pointed out in some ways we are quite alike.
One of the things that we have in common is that we are both, by our own admission, interim leaders.
So from one interim leader to another, can I give him some advice, and I’m sure that he will understand what I mean when I say – beware the blonde on the zip wire.
And speaking of interim leaders, can I now turn to the Hon Member for Moray.
Can I give him some friendly advice about the thorny issue of seating arrangements in this House, the lion might be roaring in Scotland, don’t mess with the Beast of Bolsover.
Mr Speaker, we have come through a General Election.
We applied for the job, but he got it.
Even though we didn’t get the job we wanted, we do have a very important job to do for this country – holding the Government to account.
Where he acts in the interests of the country, we will support the Government.
When he doesn’t, we will not hesitate to be a determined, forensic and vocal opposition – and that is what every one of our 232 Labour MPs will do.
And the Chief Whip is looking somewhat smug, sitting there on the frontbench. But can I remind him the Prime Minister only has a slender majority, so he won’t have it all his own way.
Mr Speaker, Britain faces a fragile future for our economy, our constitution and our public services.
Although we are seeing economic growth return it’s benefits are not being shared and the economy remains fragile.
Compared to other countries, Britain’s productivity lags behind.
Tax revenues have fallen short of where the Government said in 2010 that they would be now, meaning it’s taking longer to reduce the deficit.
Britain cannot succeed by low-skilled, low-wage, insecure employment with a race to the bottom.
The path to economic prosperity and recovery must be with a high-skilled, long-term approach.
But our productivity is being held back by a lack of investment in training, infrastructure and industry.
We will support investing in the skills that people need for the future.
We will support measures which genuinely help to get people in to work.
We will support measures that help small business – the vital drivers of the economy.
We will support investment in our infrastructure – particularly in affordable, green transport systems.
All of that will help productivity.
But what we won’t support are more arbitrary measures to undermine people’s rights at work.
They have already made it so expensive that it’s virtually impossible to go to an employment tribunal.
Mr Speaker, that’s not about better productivity. It’s divisive, it’s posturing and it’s unfair.
The Government are bringing forward legislation on tax.
We want a fair tax system.
We don’t want to see taxes going up for those on lower or middle incomes.
But the Government must not repeat what they did in the last Parliament which saw those on the very highest incomes prioritised for a tax cut.
This legislation must not block off the possibility of the Government being able to raise taxes on the very highest earners, if that is necessary to protect public services.
Because we believe it is a matter of basic principle – those with the broadest shoulders must bear the biggest burden.
Mr Speaker our political and constitutional system is fragile too.
Big changes are underway and no one should be in any doubt that there needs to be further reform.
He must keep the promises on further devolution to Scotland, to Wales and to Northern Ireland.
And there will need to be change in England, and in this House.
But to get change which is fair and lasting, it must be done in way which builds the broadest possible consensus.
The Prime Minister must seek agreement and he must break his habit of divisiveness.
Of course the SNP want to break up the Union. They want people to have to choose between being Scottish and being British.
But it would be utterly irresponsible for the Prime Minister to continue what he did so shamefully in the General Election. Which was to set the English against the Scots. We saw him do that.
No party – especially one that claims to be ‘One Nation’ – should set the interest of a family in Gloucester against the interests of a family in Glasgow or Glamorgan.
And let’s be in no doubt…the worst possible outcome for Scotland would be the SNP demanding full fiscal autonomy, that they know doesn’t add up, and a Tory Prime Minister giving it to them.
Mr Speaker, let’s continue with the much-needed process of constitutional evolution.
But whether it’s his proposals for English votes for English laws or constituency boundary changes, he must proceed in a way that is absolutely in the interests of the country and not just in the interests of his party.
And if there are to be any changes on party funding it must be on a fair, cross-party basis – not just rigged in favour of the Tory party.
And when it comes to devolution to the English regions, with local councils facing unprecedented cuts, especially in the north and some of the most deprived areas of the country, you can’t empower local government if you impoverish it.
Mr Speaker, on Europe, we will support the Government’s Bill for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.
We believe it will be better for Britain if we stay in the European Union.
It’s important for the future of this country, and that’s why 16 and 17 year olds should have the right to vote in the referendum – it’s their future too.
Our continued membership is important for our economic prosperity.
But that prosperity has to be more widely shared across this country, and a crucial part of that includes stopping unscrupulous employers exploiting migrant workers and undercutting wages.
Our membership is also important for our place in the world.
Mr Speaker, Europe does need to change.
And we want to see reforms.
So we wish the Prime Minister well with his new best friend – President Juncker.
Turning to human rights – normally there is a degree of unravelling of the Government’s legislative program after any Queen’s Speech.
But I have to say this is the first time I have known it to start unravelling before Her Majesty has even spoken.
Leaving aside a woman changing her mind, this looks like a classic Gove-special.
When it comes to the Human Rights Act, they’re clearly still working on the back of that envelope.
We’ve heard the grandiose rhetoric. We’re yet to see the proposals.
But let me make this clear.
If they seek to…
· undermine basic human rights

· take us out of the European Convention

· or undermine our ability to stand up for human rights abroad

… we will oppose them all the way.
In the meantime, we’ll be keeping an eye out for another group that might need their own rights – the poor foxes.
So Mr Speaker, a fragile economy, a fragile constitution and sadly, fragile public services too.
Top of that list is the NHS.
The Government should be straining every sinew to protect and improve our health service.
But where is the effective action
· So that people can get to see their GPs

· So that patients in A&E are seen promptly

· And so that people, especially those needing cancer treatment, don’t get stuck on waiting lists

The Prime Minister’s got form on this.
He has made promises before on the NHS.
And he’s broken them.
Whatever’s in this Queen’s Speech, we know you cannot trust the Tories on the NHS.
Mr Speaker, turning to education.
We will hold him to account for his latest promises on childcare.
The rhetoric might be promising, but the reality is that children’s centres have closed and the cost of childcare has soared.
The average family are now paying £1500 more per year for nursery fees than they would have been in 2010.
Parents don’t need more empty promises.
They need childcare they can afford.
On welfare, we back measures to get people in to work, to achieve full employment, and thereby get the social security bill down.
That’s why we put in our manifesto a commitment to a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee for young people and the long term unemployed.
We support a cap on household benefit entitlement.
The Government are now planning to reduce it.
We are sympathetic to that, but it makes it even more important that:
· The jobs are there for people to move into

· The childcare is there, particularly for lone parents

· And there are adequate funds for discretionary housing payments.

All that is necessary to ensure that this doesn’t put children into poverty, increase homelessness or end up costing more than it saves.
On housing, we want to see more people able to own their own home. And more affordable housing that people can afford to rent.
But the Prime Minister has a poor record on this too.
The percentage of people who own their own homes is at its lowest for thirty years.
And now the age at which people are able to afford their first home has risen to 33.
In the last Parliament, when the Government increased the discount for people buying their own council homes, they promised that for every council home bought there would be another council home built.
They didn’t keep that promise.
For every ten council homes bought, there’s only been one replacement council home started to be built.
Now they plan extending Right to Buy to Housing Association tenants. And are making more promises.
But they haven’t said how it will be paid for, it will clearly lead to fewer affordable homes and there is an emerging view that because it is uncosted and unfunded, it’s unworkable.
A fundamental priority for every government is to protect our security.
Never more so than from the threat of violent extremism.
We await David Anderson’s Review and will look at the detail of the government’s wider proposals.
If the Government bring forward extra powers, we will want to see greater accountability for the use of those powers.
And we will want to see the strengthening, not the watering down, of community-based counter-radicalisation programs.
Mr Speaker, the rhetoric at the beginning of this Queen’s speech is well honed.
Indeed, the best lines look uncannily like we wrote them – actually we didn’t just write them, we engraved them on a table of stone.
But that’s another story – so perhaps let’s not go there.
Mr Speaker, we fear the reality of this Queen’s speech will be very different from the rhetoric.
The Queen’s speech talks of ‘One Nation’– yet he sets the nations of the country against each other.
The Queen’s Speech talks of ‘working people’ – yet he threatens basic rights at work.
At a time when our economy, our constitution and our public services are all fragile, we fear this Tory Government will make things worse.
So as the dust settles, the real question for this Queen’s Speech is – will it improve our country, our communities and people’s lives?
That is the test that will be set for this Government.
And that is the standard to which we, as the Opposition, will hold them to account.