UNITED KINGDOM
Tributes were paid to U.K. Labour Member, Mr Paul Goggins, MP, who died earlier this year
been foreign press adviser to former American President George W. Bush, he hoped she had not been responsible for the President’s statement that, “border relations between Canada and Mexico have never been better”.
Setting out what he saw as his government’s achievements, the Prime Minister listed reductions in the deficit and crime, freezes to council tax and fuel duty, caps to benefits and cuts to the “bloated cost of government”. He argued that the
government had a “long-term economic plan” that underpinned the Queen’s Speech, and a focus on fairness – not only on what people get out of the system, but what they put into it. Summarizing the proposals of the Queen’s Speech, he said, “for the first time ever we are introducing tax-free child care to help hard-working families. We are creating new laws on producing shale gas to give
us energy security; new laws to help build high-speed rail to modernize our infrastructure; new laws to reform planning to build more homes and help more young people. We are outlawing modern slavery, confiscating assets from criminals, protecting people who volunteer, cutting red tape, and curbing the abuse of zero-hours contracts. This is a
Speech lasted for six days. As always, the debate was themed different topics on each day – the topics primarily being the choice of the main opposition party. Votes on amendments come at the end of the final two day. Both days were on economic themes – jobs and work, and the economy and living standards. Unlike the previous year, the only amendments selected were from the official opposition and both were defeated by the government.
Rt Hon. David Cameron, MP
packed programme of a busy and radical government”. The debate on the Queen’s
Private Members’ Bills Private Members’ Bills adopted an unusual significance in the previous Session of Parliament. With the coalition parties unable to reach agreement on a common position on a referendum on membership of the European Union, the Conservative Party introduced its own EU Referendum Bill under the control of the backbench Member Mr James Wharton,
MP. The Bill successfully passed the Commons, but ran out of
Mr James Wharton, MP
parliamentary time in the House of Lords amid accusations from the Bill’s supporters of filibustering and from the Bill’s opponents of attempting to push the Bill through without regard for proper scrutiny. Against this background, the
results of the Ballot for Private Members’ Bills was a matter of considerable interest. The ballot gives priority to 20
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