A vision of the Queen's Speech
- 5 Nov 07, 11:38 PM
Her Majesty's most Gracious Speech, as sticklers for parliamentary protocol like to call it, has always been a curious piece of political oratory. The speech is, after all, hers in name only. The script is her government's. This year's Queen's Speech will be curiouser still. Why? Because we already know most of what it will contain. Not thanks to pre-briefing or spin but thanks to a Brownite constitutional innovation - the pre-legislative statement or draft Queen's Speech delivered by the prime minister himself in the summer.
We cannot, therefore, expect too many surprises today. There will, as promised, be bills to enable more homes to be built, to extend the time young people stay in education and training and to give MPs more power over going to war and public appointments.
If surprise is too much to ask for what about "vision"? That's a question posed by Gordon Brown's friends and foes alike. The answer is that it is probably too much to ask for. Do not misunderstand me. I make no comment on Mr Brown or his visionary qualities. I merely note the limits of a speech which is - for all the efforts to make it appear to be more than this - simply a list of the bills the government plans to pass over the next Parliamentary year. The pledge to pass the Coroners Bill must, after all, sit alongside grander declarations of intent. Year in, year out overarching themes or titles are grafted onto these lists of course ("Investing for the future", "Building a stronger Britain" ...you know the kind of thing). They are, though, usually no sooner uttered than forgotten. And Gordon Brown's not too worried about that.
What he wants from the Queen's Speech may be revealed by one of the images of the day. Besides the pomp - the carriages and tiaras; besides the parliamentary peculiarities - the door to the Commons being slammed in the face of Black Rod; we watchers of politics will study the body language of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition as, for the first time, they walk side by side from Commons to the Lords to hear the Gracious Speech.
David Cameron and Tony Blair smiled as they chattered about whether the PM had seen the portrayal of himself in the film "The Queen". As it happens, he hadn't. Brown and Cameron, though, don't do small talk. Indeed, if it were down to Brown they won't do much talk at all.
The Prime Minister sees today less as a chance to outline his vision and more about exposing the choice between him and his opponent. Or, as he would have it, between the long term thinking Britain needs and short term electorally driven opportunism. His message will be "This is how I think education or health or the constitution needs to change to prepare the country for the next 20 years - what would HE do ?" His aides say that unlike Tony Blair he is not looking for issues where he can take on on his own party. He wants, instead, to take on and defeat the Tories on what he calls the Big Arguments.
The loudest and longest parliamentary arguments of the forthcoming session may be on other things - on the EU Treaty and new terror laws. Expect another fierce - non party - debate - on abortion too. And lest that not seem lively enough, the government will signal, although not spell out the details of, legislation to come on immigration and party funding.
Her Majesty's script will, I hazard a guess, speak of the need to build a national consensus. A consensus between Brown and Cameron? After today's speech? Now that is too much to ask for.
UPDATE, TUE 10:20 AM: For those who like the pomp more than the politics, take a careful look at Jack Straw who will today become the first non-peer to hand the Gracious Speech to Her Majesty (he is the first MP to be Lord Chancellor). Rumour has it that this one-time radical plans to walk backwards after handing over the text - a tradition abandoned by his predecessor Lord Irvine .
