THERESA May has been accused of "running out of ideas" by Jeremy Corbyn after producing what the Labour leader branded a "threadbare" Queen's Speech.
The Prime Minister, still engaged with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists to get a working majority to push her programme for government through Westminster, ditched or watered down many of the flagship policies contained in the Conservative manifesto.
The highly controversial reforms on social care, dubbed the “dementia tax” by the UK Government’s political opponents, will be put out to consultation “to build the widest possible consensus”.
There was no mention in the speech of the contentious plan to scrap free school lunches in England. The triple lock on state pensions will run until 2022 as planned but “what happens after that is a matter for the future,” said No 10.
The Conservative Party is “reflecting” on the issue of means-testing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners south of the border.
The proposal to extend grammar schools in England would not happen “in this session” ie not before June 2019, according to a senior Tory source, while the plan to give a free vote on fox-hunting was “not a priority”.
During Commons exchanges, Mrs May also failed to confirm whether or not the energy price cap promise to deliver 17 million customers £100 in savings, would be introduced. The PM said the Government intended to "take action on this issue" but did not say whether this mean creating a price cap.
The centrepiece of the speech was the Repeal Bill on Brexit, one of eight pieces of legislation covering different aspects of Britain's EU withdrawal from trade and customs to immigration and nuclear safety.
Other bills included those to extend the HS2 high-speed rail link to Crewe, permit the development of driverless cars, spaceports and commercial satellites, cut whiplash insurance claims and protect victims of domestic abuse.
The PM acknowledged the outcome of the General Election fell well short of the emphatic victory she had hoped for and stressed how her minority administration would seek to govern with "humility" to regain voters' trust.
"The election showed that, as it faces the big challenges of our future, our country is divided; red versus blue, young versus old, Leave versus Remain.
"The test for all of us is whether we choose to reflect divisions or help the country overcome them. With humility and resolve, this Government will seek to do the latter.
"We will do what is in the national interest and we will work with anyone in any party that is prepared to do the same," she declared.
Mrs May, to Labour barracking, insisted that her party had won the election, gaining more seats and votes, but told Mr Corbyn he had come a “good second”.
The Labour leader, heading a re-energised party, denounced the "chaos" of the Tory minority government.
He told MPs: "A threadbare programme from a government that's lost its majority and apparently run out of ideas all together. This would be a thin legislative programme even if it was for one year, but for two years, two years; there's not enough in it to fill up one year.”
Mr Corbyn added: "This is a government without a majority, without a mandate, without a serious legislative programme, led by a prime minister who has lost her political authority and is struggling to stitch together a deal with the DUP to stay in office.
"We will use every opportunity to vote down Government policies that failed to win public support and we will use every opportunity to win support for our programme."
Ian Blackford for the SNP accused Mrs May of being in office but not in power. “She is a lame-duck prime minister leading a lame-duck government. It took Theresa May just four days to ditch her first flagship manifesto policy and it's taken barely four weeks for her to ditch the rest."
Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the speech showed the Tory Government had "lost touch" with reality and the people, adding that his party would not support it.
A Commons vote is due next week.
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