Queen’ speech a disappointment says Portsmouth MP

Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South – Lib Dem) has branded today’s Queen’s Speech a disappointment and lacking in vision.

Mike said: “Overall this is a mishmash of knee-jerk reactions with no vision as to where Brown and Labour want to take the country.

“Take Global Warming - we have seen this year the effect of extreme weather throughout the country and Portsmouth is particularly vulnerable to flooding. It’s clear that we need to act urgently on global warming and climate change. But rather than bring in a strong Climate Change Bill, the Government’s proposed Bill lacks targets and the real action needed to tackle the problem.

“Many people in Portsmouth, particularly pensioners and those on fixed incomes find it hard to pay the council tax because of way central Government has treated local councils. The Government is ignoring these people, they should scrap the council tax and replace it with a fairer system based on the ability to pay. The Lib Dems’ proposal for a local income tax would achieve that.

“Housing is becoming an urgent problem in Portsmouth. Many people here are unable to live in a home of their own because the Government has failed completely over the past decade to ensure there is enough affordable housing. Yet the measures in the Queen’s Speech on housing will only scratch the surface of the problem.

“Gordon Brown has had ten years to think what he wanted to do as Prime Minister. Yet this is a dog’s dinner of a programme for Government. And it will do little to address the real everyday problems that my constituents come to me with day after day.”