A Predictable Disappointment
December 1, 2004 12:00 AM
By Sarah Teather MP in North West London Newspapers Times/ Chronicle Series
By Sarah Teather MP in North West London Newspapers Times/ Chronicle Series
Sarah hopes the British public will see through the Government's scare tactics
Last week was the Queen's Speech, which is where the Government outlines its programme of legislation for the new parliament.
This year my overwhelming sense was of disappointed predictability. The attempt to build up fear of terrorism and crime as we come up to the election was a disgraceful example of low politics. A poor attempt at imitating George Bush's victory in the American elections. This is the politics of fear, not the politics of hope. You only have to read Peter Hain's disgraceful claim that this country would be safer under Labour, and his implication that those voting for other parties do not value this country's safety. Playing party politics with terrorism is a very dangerous business. I suspect that the British public will see through it.
So we have a Home Office dominated programme - little of which is actually new. Most is a rehash of or tinkering with legislation brought forward numerous times before. And many of the scare tactics won't actually solve the problems they promise to tackle.
Take ID cards. Does anyone believe David Blunkett when he claims ID cards will prevent terrorism? Will having ID cards really deter a suicide bomber? Surely it would be better to spend £3bn on more 10,000 more police not bits of plastic. ID cards did not stop the bombings in Madrid or New York, and they are unlikely to in London.
And while we're on the subject of scare stories, why did the Government not address a problem the government's chief scientist has said is a bigger threat than terrorism? There was little mention of the environment here. Where are the policies to address climate change, carbon emissions, pollution? The legacy that we leave future generations is in the Government's hands yet it fails to tackle the real issues.
If this had been a Lib Dem Queen's speech, we would have used it to scrap tuition fees; scrap the council tax and replace it with a local income tax; and introduce free care for the elderly and a decent state pension. These are things that really matter to people's lives.
There were some things to welcome however, though the devil will be in the detail once we hear more about the bills. I'm delighted to see a charities bill on the programme as well as legislation on corporate manslaughter and road safety. If the government brings forward sensible proposals to tackle the large number of serious accidents and deaths on our roads, that will be very good news indeed.
However, there are over 30 Bills in this programme, and they won't all get through before the election. Sadly, what lingers this year are the more cynical proposals, and I fear they will be the Government's priority.
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