Queen’s Speech

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction to the gracious Speech and send our good wishes to the Queen. I also look forward with pleasure to the maiden speech of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and to his contributions for many years to come.

This Queen’s Speech shows just how much the Government are out of touch with the issues that really matter to the people of this country. We know that what really concern people are the cost of living crisis, the huge rise in energy bills, lengthening NHS waiting lists and the impact of climate change on our future well-being. However, instead of a programme to address these very real concerns, the Government have chosen to pick fabricated fights to please a dwindling group of core supporters.

The fact is that the Government have presided over a low-growth economy for more than a decade. As a result, the Conservative Party has become the party of high taxes and low pay, and the latest national insurance increase means that millions will be taking home even less. We were already facing the scandal of over 1 million people regularly using food banks, and the Trussell Trust has reported a dramatic increase in demand following the scrapping of the £20 a week universal credit uplift. As a further reminder of how out of touch the Government are, we have MP Lee Anderson blaming a lack of cooking skills for the food poverty that millions of people are experiencing. Now, on top of the existing financial pain, energy costs have spiralled, and an estimated 1.5 million people will struggle to pay their energy and food bills. However, there is nothing in the Queen’s Speech to support households with the cost of living, no proposals for an emergency budget, no compassion and no hope. No wonder Simon Hart, the Welsh Secretary, described the speech as “dull as hell”.

We have to ask when the Chancellor will stir himself to act on the economic crisis. Increasingly, we are hearing business leaders—such as those from John Lewis, Tesco and Scottish Power—begging him to get his act together, as they see first hand the damage that is being done by his inaction. Inflation is at a 30-year high, with the potential to peak at over 10%, meaning that most people are experiencing real-term pay cuts. Andy Haldane, the ex-chief economist of the Bank of England, has warned that high inflation is likely to last for “years rather than months”. The result will be higher mortgage costs and a further squeeze on incomes. The Bank of England itself has warned that, for many, the cost of living crisis will feel like a recession.

Last week’s GDP figures showed a dramatic drop of 0.1% in March, showing economic growth grinding to a halt, amid evidence that the Chancellor ignored warnings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in October 2020 that he was incorrectly financing the large sums needed for the pandemic. Meanwhile, as a result of previous ill-conceived government policies, many businesses are unable to recruit the staff they need to create growth opportunities, so further stagnation is setting in. While it is true that there are inflationary pressures across the globe, the Government’s handling of the economy means that we are experiencing a particularly challenging time, with the IMF predicting that we will slump to the bottom of the G7 table next year.

Where are the coherent set of measures to tackle the cost of living crisis and rebalance the economy? Where are the plans to invest in green, zero-carbon industries that could create millions of jobs across the nation as well as helping us meet our international obligations? Where is the promised employment Bill, which would have provided some extra protection for workers from unscrupulous employers? Why have the Government done nothing to revisit the level of social security uprating, despite the promise of the Prime Minister to do so when he appeared before the Commons Liaison Committee earlier in the year? Why is the focus of the financial services and markets Bill on deregulation when we know that this has been the cause of financial crises in the past? Where are the measures to ensure that banks deliver greater financial inclusion, a focus on green investment and financial regulation to support our climate change commitments?

For millions of families facing catastrophic soaring energy bills, the Government’s energy Bill is hopelessly inadequate. It does nothing to bring down costs, nothing to fast-track the energy-efficiency measures we all know that we need, and nothing to speed the race to renewables. Meanwhile, profits from oil companies are reaching record levels. This is why we have consistently argued that there should be a one-off windfall tax on the oil and gas giants, along with an uplift on the warm homes discount, giving additional support to up to 9 million working families and pensioners. I read that the Chancellor is finally considering a windfall tax. He should not be embarrassed about copying Labour’s proposals: if it is the right thing to do for the country, he should just get on with it.

The truth is that we are living with the failure of this Government’s policy over a decade to properly regulate the energy market, to develop renewables and nuclear power, and to deliver the energy-efficiency programmes that the Climate Change Committee has repeatedly said are vital to meet our net-zero targets. This is why Labour is committed to accelerating the green energy sprint by, for example, insulating 19 million homes in a decade; doubling our onshore wind capacity and tripling solar power by 2030; and targeting investment in hydrogen. We will put renewable energy at the heart of our energy security programme, providing the leadership to encourage and reassure investment for a long-term strategy, as well as putting our climate change obligations at the heart of everything we do.

Unlike Labour, the Government seem to have dropped action on climate change and the environment from their priorities—and yet the need was never greater. The recent report from the Office of Environmental Protection warns of a tipping point in which gradual environmental decline becomes catastrophic, including loss of wildlife, the collapse of fisheries, and dead, polluted rivers. It highlights the many environmental targets already missed and the funding for those who monitor environmental failings being cut, and calls on the Government to implement more urgent and coherent measures.

Sadly, none of that urgency is reflected in the Bills before us. Where are the measures on the protection of the national parks and other strategic areas of the countryside that we were expecting? Where are the ambitious plans on improving land use and delivering biodiversity net gain we were promised through the new planning legislation? They have been replaced by a vague promise to factor in environmental concerns. Where is the nature Bill that could have taken forward our next steps on reversing biodiversity decline? Where is a food Bill to implement the national food strategy and deliver for British farmers and consumers? Instead, we see the Government rowing back on the simplest of measures to control junk-food marketing. Where is the further action on water quality and air quality, which we know are areas of major public concern?

The story of the Government’s environment priorities in this programme for government is more about what is not in it than what is. Similarly missing is the animals abroad Bill, which would have banned trophy hunting and the import of animal fur and foie gras—all further evidence that the Government are pandering to a small group of Tory Back-Benchers rather than following through on their manifesto commitments that have broad public support.

These Bills are a hallmark of a Government who have lost their way. They tilt at the wrong targets and highlight a lack of ambition and missed opportunities. We needed a Queen’s Speech that would tackle the cost of living crisis with an emergency Budget, including a windfall tax, to get money off people’s bills. We needed a real plan for growth to get our economy firing on all cylinders, with a climate investment pledge and a commitment to make and buy more in Britain. We needed to put action on restoring nature and biodiversity at the heart of what we do, in the knowledge that they are essential for human well-being, progress and prosperity. Sadly, these Bills will do none of these things. They excite and inspire no one, and the Government will undoubtedly pay the price at the next election.