Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson’s government was “bereft of ideas or purpose” after a Queen’s speech that included bills to overhaul the planning system and rewrite human rights law, but few new measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Warning that the UK faced a “stagflation crisis” the Labour leader said: “We need a government of the moment, with the ideas that meet the aspirations of the people.”

Instead, he said there was a government that was “bereft of ideas or purpose, without a guiding principle or a roadmap for delivery”. He added: “Their time has passed.”

Starmer was speaking as MPs began debating the government’s plans for the new parliamentary session, set out in a speech delivered earlier by Prince Charles, standing in for his mother.

Apparently designed to win back disenchanted Tory voters, the programme includes modest planning changes that are a far cry from the radical overhaul originally envisaged, which had spooked many Conservatives. And there are a series of nods to “culture war issues”, from preventing councils pursuing political boycotts, to ensuring local people are consulted before the names of streets are changed.

A new British bill of rights, promised by the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, is aimed at curtailing the role of the European court of human rights. The speech said the legislation would “ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government, strengthening freedom...

Read Full Story: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/10/boris-johnson-tries-to-woo-t...