Wednesday 27 May 2015

The Queens Speech - Are These Tory Bills good?

So today is the queen speech. Luckily the BBC have a page on the policies the speech will use, so I shall use it's descriptions for each and then explain what I, as a reasonably normal young person of the UK makes of each possible bill.



EU Referendum Bill





This is high up on the list of the government's priorities. David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership of the European Union and put it to a public vote by 2017 at the latest. To do this he'll need to publish a parliamentary bill to pave the way for a referendum - so it's a definite to feature in the speech.


James Thinks: This is not a good idea, we have already seen how the British Electorate vote and for too many people, life depends on being within the European Union. Cornwall and Wales are two places that have a funding match from the EU and without this these two relatively deprived places would be further deprived. Therefore a vote on this matter isn't a good idea as it seems that far too many people will vote with a severe misunderstanding. Some will argue the EU needs change, but you can't change anything from the outside. Plus it could mean removing the free movement we currently have around Europe.




Income Tax Bill





During the general election campaign, David Cameron vowed to introduce a law guaranteeing no rise in income tax rates, VAT or national insurance before 2020. He said workers already paid enough tax and he would focus on other ways of clearing the deficit, such as reducing the welfare bill and tackling tax avoidance. The PM has also pledged a law to ensure that "no one working 30 hours on the minimum wage pays any income tax at all". Writing in the Sunday Telegraph about his first 100 days in office, he said: "It is a permanent measure to re-write not just the laws of this country but the values of this country. And it will be there as the centrepiece of the first Queen's Speech of my new government."


James Thinks: You shouldn't need a law to ensure you won't increase taxes. It's therefore ridiculous and the question that then comes out ends up being "where are you going to cut to make up for this". If the answer is welfare, health, public services or education then it's nothing short of a disgrace.




Immigration Bill





The government is promising a crackdown on illegal immigration, and has already set out a number of new offences to try to "control and reduce" migration to the UK. These include a specific offence of illegal working - with police given the power to seize the wages paid to illegal workers as the "proceeds of crime". Among other proposals being considered are new powers for councils to deal with unscrupulous landlords and to evict illegal migrants more quickly, while all foreign criminals awaiting deportation will be fitted with satellite tracking tags. It will also become an offence for businesses and recruitment agencies to hire abroad without first advertising in the UK - a policy which featured prominently in Labour's election manifesto - and a new enforcement agency will be set up to tackle what the prime minister called "the worst cases of exploitation".


James Thinks: We need to take people who need sure that all people who need to get away from their country due to issues are able to come. For instance Iraq, where some of the blame of what's going on has to come down to the United Kingdom for destabilising the country. It's about human lives, not anything else. And we owe a duty of care. It would be a more productive thing than to waste resources sending people out to fight.




Policing Bill





Home Secretary Theresa May has pledged to ban the use of police cells for the emergency detention of mentally ill people under the Mental Health Act. In a speech to the annual conference of the Police Federation in England and Wales, Mrs May also outlined plans to extend police-led prosecutions, overhaul the complaints system, and change the use of bail.


James Thinks: The Coalition couldn't be trusted with the police making them considerably weaker, I have a horrible thing this will happen again. They cut 34,000 police staff in the last election and many think it'll be similar again. This means that anything that happens within a police bill is likely to actually end up not being able to be enforced successfully as the stress of the job gets higher and higher.




City Devolution Bill





We know that proposals to devolve more powers to England's cities will feature in the Queen's Speech. Chancellor George Osborne said as much in first post-election speech, in which he outlined his vision to give English cities powers over housing, transport, planning and policing. He said Greater Manchester - which will take on the powers when electing a mayor in two years - should become a blueprint for other large cities.


James Thinks: It should be regional...not city. How can Devon or Cornwall have devolution by City? Or many other smaller places. Also Newcastle and many other Cities voted against elected Mayors.




Strike laws reform





The new business secretary, Sajid Javid, has said it will be a government priority to reform strike laws. Specifically, it is proposing to ban strike action from taking place unless 40% of all eligible union members vote in favour of industrial action. The government also wants to lift a ban on use of agency staff when strike action takes places. "That's something we'll give more detail on in the Queen's Speech but it will be a priority," Mr Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier this month.


James Thinks: It's removing employees rights, at times there may be a legitimate right for a few to enter. Also ironic that a Government elected by less than 40% of the British Electorate who voted and less than 25% of those eligible could demand 40% of the vote for a strike...




Employment Bill





The Conservatives have said measures on work will be at the heart of their legislative programme, with David Cameron saying during the election campaign that the UK should aspire to "full employment". He has pledged legislation on "day one" of the new Parliament. Among the priorities will be a push to create two million more jobs and three million more apprenticeships over the course of the Parliament. The boost in apprenticeships is to be paid for by reducing the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000.


James Thinks: They haven't succeeded with employment issues and I know it...This'll probably at some point see workers rights fall like the bill above.




Schools Bill





The prime minister has pledged to bring in a bill to "deliver better schools - with more radical measures to ensure young people leave education with the skills they need". He said the legislation will "include new powers to force coasting schools, as well as failing schools, to accept new leadership, continuing the remarkable success story of Britain's academy schools". The Conservatives want to expand their free schools programme - which Labour opposes, with Mr Cameron committing to creating an extra 270,000 free school places by 2020.


James Thinks: Two words Michael Gove. They saw that man fit to deal with the education system 5 years ago. Now, how can things get better...well let's start with scrapping free schools and making academies go back to schools run by Governors and the more successful systems before these changes 5 years ago?




Childcare Bill





Another stated key priority of the Conservative government is childcare. Currently, all three and four-year olds in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year, which works out as 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year. During the election campaign, the Conservatives promised 30 hours from 2017. The prime minister has also said he wants to introduce tax-free childcare for every child.


James Thinks: Three words: Labour offered better




Enterprise Bill





The government has outlined plans for a bill to cut red tape for British business by at least £10bn and, for the first time, independent regulators will be expected to contribute to that target. The bill is also expected to propose a new Small Business Conciliation Service, to help settle disputes between small and large businesses, especially over late payment practices.


James Thinks: It's not easy to set up a business and many can't afford to it, where is there help? It's important we see people do well, but we need to do this in ways that also help people who don't own their own business. Also Labour also offered help to small business whilst keeping in mind those who don't have their own.




Scotland Bill





The prime minister has pledged to include a bill on devolution which would be based on the cross-party Smith Commission agreement on Scottish devolution. The Smith proposals included giving Holyrood the power to set income tax rates and bands, as well as control over a share of VAT and some welfare benefits.


James Thinks: Scotland's going to be better to live in than England very very soon.




Human Rights Act Repeal Bill





The Conservatives have pledged to abolish the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. The Conservative manifesto says: "This will break the formal link between British courts and the European Court of Human Rights, and make our own Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK."


James Thinks: It's a disgrace that we even consider removing this. It is Churchill's legacy and it's an important act. Only one country in Europe isn't signed up to this and this country is also the only dictatorship.




Counter-extremism Bill





The government is expected to bring forward a new bill to crack down on radicalisation. It will include new immigration rules, powers to close down premises used by extremists, and "extremism disruption orders". Mr Cameron has repeatedly stressed the need to confront and defeat the "poisonous" extremist ideology. The proposals are likely to encounter some opposition in the new Parliament on the grounds that some of the plans could infringe people's right to free speech, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.


James Thinks: This simply comes down to whether it effects our privacy. Which is a right.




Communications and Data Bill





This was the bill that the Conservatives' smaller coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, refused to back in the last Parliament. Current legislation expires in 2016 and will have to be renewed. So now the Conservatives are governing alone, they can bring back what opponents call the snoopers' charter. The previous plans proposed to extend the range of data communications companies have to store for 12 months. It would have included, for the first time, details of messages sent on social media, webmail, voice calls over the internet and gaming, in addition to emails and phone calls. Officials would not have been able to see the content of the messages without a warrant. Currently communications firms only retain data about who people send emails to, and who they ring.


James Thinks: And this is exactly what I mean when I said it comes down to the privacy. We should not live in a society where people can see everything we are sending. It's not private and could be used for the wrong reasons. The Snoopers Bill can't happen. End of.




Housing Bill





Housing was a hot topic during the general election, featuring in all of the parties' campaigns. One of the Conservatives' key pledges was an extension of Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme to 1.3 million housing association tenants in England - and the government has confirmed this will feature. Under the plans, housing association tenants will be able to buy the homes they rent at a discount. Communities Minister Greg Clark told the BBC the government wanted to extend the opportunity for people to own their home. There will also be help for first-time buyers, with 200,000 starter homes made available to under-40s at a 20% discount - another Conservative manifesto pledge.


James Thinks: See this article.




NHS Bill





The Conservatives made several commitments on the NHS during the election campaign - and David Cameron used his first major post-election speech to focus on his plans for the health service in England. He has pledged to boost funding by at least £8bn extra a year by 2020 and to create "a truly seven-day NHS". The government is also promising to recruit 5,000 new GPs.


James Thinks: Let's wait and see, I have a funny feeling we could be waving goodbye to our NHS sooner rather than later.




Wales Bill





David Cameron has pledged to implement "as fast as I can the devolution that all parties agreed for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland". Wales Secretary Stephen Crabb has said his officials were writing legislation to transfer further powers to Wales, so these could be included in the Queen's Speech.


James Thinks: I've got a feeling this won't go brilliantly for Wales. But again, could this mean the Government just wiping their hands and trying to set a rival party up. It wouldn't surprise you.




Hunting Ban Repeal Bill





Could David Cameron throw a bone to his Conservative backbenchers and introduce legislation to repeal the law that bans fox hunting with dogs? The ban has been unpopular in many rural areas since its introduction by Labour in 2004 - and David Cameron has indicated he would like to undo it. Their manifesto stated that a Conservative government "will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time".


James Thinks:Fox hunting is wrong and elitist. We should be trying to eradicate elitism. Watching the Queens Speech we are a long was off being successful with removing elitist rubbish. First elitist establishments that would need sorting are Eton (close the place) and a bit of a nudge on Cambridge and Oxford who have no right to regard themselves as supreme to others (I would make the boat race have a week of time trials before a race between the top 2 or 3 rather than the Elitist rubbish that it is).




Legal highs ban





Legislation to introduce a blanket ban on so-called legal highs is expected to feature in the Queen's Speech. The proposal was included in the Conservatives' general election manifesto, which stated: "We will create a blanket ban on all new psychoactive substances, protecting young people from exposure to so-called 'legal highs'." A Home Office source told the BBC that the proposal would be enacted upon.


James Thinks: If you cut the police, good luck enforcing this!

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