Queen's Speech - Liberal Democrat reaction

5.30.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 6th Nov 2007

Vince Cable, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats commenting on the Queen's Speech said "The anticipation was acute - but the anti-climax is deafening. The legislative programme is firmly rooted in the Blair era. There is very little new. No ideas, no vision. Is this what we have been waiting for? Perhaps, lurking in this Queen's Speech is a genuinely Big Idea: a Conservative-Labour Grand Coalition of policies and ideas. The one time editor of the Red Paper has penned a Queen's speech in the bluest ink. Across wide swathes of policy his approach is indistinguishable from the Tories. On the important issues of the day it is the Liberal Democrats who offer a distinctive voice."

The Liberal Democrats have outlined what their views on specific ares on the speech:

· EU Treaty: The Liberal Democrats will seek to amend the Bill to provide for a referendum on our membership of the EU. We want the Prime Minister to join us in making the case for Europe.

· Climate Change Bill: The bill is full of holes. There are crucial omissions in the Bill such as aviation and shipping.

· Housing: This over-hyped bill contains too little on affordable housing, too little on social housing and too little on sustainable housing.

· Education Bill: The Liberal Democrats will seek to amend the proposal to raise the school leaving age. The Bill risks criminalising young people instead of tackling the reasons why they leave education in the first place.

· Counter-Terrorism Bill: There is no evidence to support the extension of detention beyond 28 days.

· Health: The Queen's Speech gives no sign of Brown's vision of the NHS. There is nothing about the pressing priority of funding care for the elderly.

· Planning Bill: There's a real risk the Planning Reform Bill will lead to a bulldozing of local opinion in a bogus quest for faster decisions.

· Transport Bill: The Government is forcing councils into road pricing pilots, even where these are not the best option locally.

· Constitutional Reform: It is sad that ministers are still unwilling or unable to tackle the most difficult issues like fixed term parliaments, devolving power to local government and reform of the unfair voting system.

· Pensions Bill: This Government's attempts to increase incentives to save for retirement are totally undermined by its damaging obsession with means-testing.

· Energy Bill: The Government should commit to a carbon neutral future. There must be no back-door subsidies to nuclear power, which is a tried, tested and failed technology.

· Immigration: The Government's response to a system in crisis looks set to be yet more sticking plaster solutions that are the usual muddle of ill-thought out panic measures and reheated announcements.

· Banking legislation: Action must be taken to restore confidence in the security of people's savings. But banks must also act more responsibly.