The quiet Queen’s Speech seems largely to have underwhelmed Tory MPs – though they do predict a number of sticky moments in the Commons over the coming months. Most I have spoken to describe it as ‘pretty bare’, though they also understand why the Prime Minister isn’t trying anything particularly ambitious at this stage ‘Why waste initiatives when no-one is listening?’ asks one. Another anti-Cameron MP describes the content rather more bluntly as ‘uninspiring, managerialist and vacuous’.
There will be flashpoints on the Bill of Rights and the Investigatory Powers Bill, something the whips are hard at work on. They hope that on the latter, any funny business by Labour that leads to the party opposing the Bill will be counterbalanced by furious members of the Old Right and Blairite wings of the party who will rebel against their party if it appears to be at all soft on national security.
Pro-Cameron ministers are pleased with the focus on life chances, but some are similarly disappointed with the light content. One says ‘it felt like the last speech of parliament before an election, not our second session’. There is a theory among those pro-Cameron ministers that the Prime Minister and George Osborne have lost a fair amount of self-confidence over the past few months as a result of the rows that followed the Budget and the Panama Papers. One says: ‘it is the beginning of the end. Which is a shame for those of us who think Cameron is the best leader, but you can see it etched on his face.’
That might prove to be an overly pessimistic assessment, given Cameron’s knack of defying doom-laden predictions. But you can certainly see caution etched over this Queen’s Speech.
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