Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Queen's Speech 2010

The question really is about the government's legislative plan.

Queen's Speech: How radical are Cameron's plans?

The precise pageantry and choreography dates back over 150 years. The coalition government thinks this programme is just about the most radical in all that time…

If the two parts of the government stick firmly together, though, there is a decent parliamentary majority.

So, success in passing these laws may come down to how well dissent within the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties is managed.

In the 22 bills outlined by the Queen, there could be some very significant changes for parents, pupils, patients and parliamentarians…

[M]ore schools will be given freedom and flexibility from government control, individuals will be directly elected to police forces, and there will be significant cuts to big, centralised public bodies.

The plans for welfare reform look ambitious too - with a desire expressed to get "five million people languishing on welfare into work"…

Cutting welfare bills, slashing "unaccountable" Quangos, and freeing up schools all have the potential to deliver savings for taxpayers, and get the consumers of public services (us) more involved.

But remember: Every government promises to bring down the welfare bill, every government promises better value for money, and every government promises reform of public services.

Tony Blair once said that he had "the scars on his back" after just a couple of years of trying to change the state.

Publishing the plan is the easy bit...

Now both government and opposition have the chance to show that Westminster can work.