DAVID Cameron's plan to "rebuild Britain" came under heavy fire last night as Labour and the SNP accused the Prime Minister of failing to include any significant measures in the Queen's Speech to boost growth and create jobs.

As Mr Cameron laid out Coalition plans to split the banks, introduce flexible parental leave, create a British FBI to combat organised crime, reform public sector pensions and cut business red tape, the UK Government's second legislative programme was under threat of being overshadowed by a civil war on reforming the House of Lords.

MPs and peers picked up on what was described as "curious wording" in the Queen's Speech, which spoke of bringing forward a Bill to "reform the composition" of the upper chamber.

Lord Forsyth, the former Scottish Secretary, referred to "this difficult to understand phrase" which suggested the Government was minded to do something short of abolition.

He noted how a bill put forward by Lord Steel – the former Liberal leader – to introduce small-scale reform of the upper chamber "would sail through the House of Commons and the House of Lords without any difficulty".

Last month, Lord Steel's Bill –which would reduce the number of peers by allowing retirals, exclude those who regularly failed to attend and ban those with criminal convictions – was halted in the Commons.

Last night, however, the former presiding officer at Holyrood told The Herald he was due to meet Government business managers today after he was informed the Coalition was now minded to support his Bill.

Asked if the Government might push through his legislative proposals as a means of reforming the "composition" of the Lords, Lord Steel said: "I don't think so because it comes nowhere near reform of the upper house. I don't think they would get away with it."

Yet he added that a more comprehensive Bill might fall in the Commons or in any referendum. "It could be a repeat of the 1968 fiasco," he added; a reference to one of many failed attempts over 100 years to shake up the Lords.

Intriguingly, the PM's spokesman, stressing how the Government was seeking a consensus, declined to discuss whether Tory MPs would be whipped to support Lords reform, saying only: "It is part of the Government's programme; we intend to take it through."

Acknowledging possible trouble from Tory backbenchers, Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary, said: "It is no great secret that we probably would not be including in the legislation reform of the House of Lords unless we were in coalition."

After the traditional pomp of the state opening – with a slimline Queen's Speech of 15 bills lasting just 15 minutes – sharp exchanges took place in the Commons.

Ed Miliband denounced the Coalition's package as offering "no change, no hope". The Labour leader said: "This is the speech that was supposed to be the Government's answer to the clear message from the electorate last week, but on today's evidence, they still don't get it."

Angus Robertson for the SNP said: "At a time when we needed capital investment to support employment, help small business and promote economic security, there is little in this Queen's Speech to meet the challenges we face. He added: "This fall back into recession in the UK shows the Tory/LibDem Coalition has its priorities all wrong and that we urgently need a change of direction."

Critics pointed out how there was no legislation to regulate lobbying or introduce gay marriage while campaigners expressed disappointment at the failure to enshrine the 0.7% overseas aid target in law or to bring forward a fundamental overhaul of the adult care system in England.

Yet Mr Cameron described the Queen's Speech as one "for the doers, the strivers and those who work hard and play by the rules". He told MPs: "This is a Government that is taking the tough decisions to help families who work hard and do the right thing, acting for the long term, governing in the national interest. "This is a Queen's Speech to rebuild Britain."

Later, Nick Clegg emailed his party's activists, saying the Queen's Speech had a "firm Liberal Democrat stamp on it" and referred to measures such as banking reform, support for families and establishing Britain's first green investment bank. He added the Coalition's legislative programme "clearly set out our collective determination to reform the House of Lords, a historic commitment of our party".