Analysis: As Michael Martin�s statement over the Damian Green affair was overshadowing the Queen�s Speech, it was itself overshadowed by Gordon Brown, who last night unexpectedly announced new help for unemployed mortgage-holders facing the threat of home repossession.
As Michael Martin's statement over the Damian Green affair was overshadowing the Queen's Speech, it was itself overshadowed by Gordon Brown, who last night unexpectedly announced new help for unemployed mortgage-holders facing the threat of home repossession.
The rabbit out of the prime ministerial hat will mean that households which have temporarily lost their income will be able to defer mortgage interest payments for up to two years. The initiative will cover mortgages worth up to £400,000 with the cost being borne by the UK Government.
No 10 made clear the surprise move, agreed already with eight of the main high street banks, is meant to "provide reassurance" to people who might face losing their homes in the recession.
Of course, at this stage it is unclear how many people it will help but, politically, it appears a smart move as it shows the PM and his colleagues are being proactive and seeking to ease the harsh edge of the downturn. Mr Brown insisted the proposed government measures would offer "real help for homeowners and families".
The main focus of the Queen's Speech was shifted on to the global economic downturn with her opening remarks all about how the UK Government was "committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times".
In March, when the draft Queen's Speech was announced, it contained 18 bills; yesterday, they had been reduced to 14. Measures like the Heritage Protection Bill that dealt with the listing of historic buildings and the Communication Data Bill, which increased powers to monitor people's use of the internet, were dropped. As also, to all intents and purposes, was the Constitutional Renewal Bill, which would give MPs the final say over waging war. This will be introduced "when time allows".
Cabinet sources have told The Herald that the UK Government had to be clear about its primary focus and putting forward measures about historic buildings, the internet and the constitution, at a time of recession, would have made ministers look foolish.
The credit crunch centrepiece of the Queen's Speech was the Banking Bill, designed to enhance financial stability through measures to reduce the likelihood of banks getting into difficulty and strengthen protection for depositors if they fail.
One of the most contentious proposals is the Welfare Reform Bill, which will introduce new requirements for disabled people and single parents to seek work with the aim to cut Incapacity Benefit claimants by one million.
The UK-wide bill will also abolish Income Support in favour of a new streamlined system of out-of-work benefits. However, welfare cheats will have their benefits withdrawn for four weeks if they fiddle the system and could even face lie-detector tests.
Brendan Barber of the TUC was critical, saying the welfare reform proposals looked like a "leftover from pre-recessionary times". He added: "The newly redundant need help, guidance and decent benefits, not to be treated as potential benefit scroungers."
The Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill will create an "earned citizenship" scheme for foreigners who want to become British. Immigrants who commit crimes or make no effort to integrate will have to wait longer to become UK citizens.
An Equality Bill will combine nine pieces of anti-discrimination legislation and 100 statutory instruments into a single Act of Parliament to give everyone "a fair chance in life" regardless of gender, race, sexuality or disability.
Meantime, the Child Poverty Bill will enshrine in law the Labour totem of a commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
The Scotland Office explained how all but one bill will apply north of the border in various degrees.
The Coroners and Justice Bill seeks to create a more responsive system for victims of crime, mainly in England. However, the move to ensure criminals do not profit from their memoirs will also apply in Scotland.
Campaigners also denounced the ability, which will apply in Scotland, for personal data to be passed between government departments. They claimed Britain faced an "Orwellian future" under a plan to create a "database state".
While the Policing and Crime Bill seeks to strengthen controls over lapdancing clubs and binge drinking in England, some elements like those on increasing the fight against organised crime and providing greater clarity on airport security will apply in Scotland too.
The Political Parties and Elections Bill, which introduces greater transparency on political donations and strengthens the role of the Electoral Commission, has been carried over from the last session.
In the Commons, David Cameron branded the UK Government programme as nothing but "bureaucratic bungling and technocratic tinkering".
The Tory leader said there was no recognition in the legislative programme that there was "no government money left". He insisted the Queen's Speech was all about the "short-term prospects of the Prime Minister" and not about Britain's long-term future.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, was equally dismissive, saying the address was from a "fag-end government which is running out of ideas".
Stewart Hosie for the SNP claimed the UK Government programme proved it had "its head in the sand over the current economic reality" and that the Queen's Speech gave "absolutely no hint of how the UK Government intends to claw back the billions of additional borrowing racked up as a result of Gordon Brown's decade-long mishandling of UK economy". However, Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, defended the legislative programme, saying: "It is a clear sign the UK Government is listening and responding to the concerns of Scots and working in their interest.
"It is based on the living principles of fair rules, fair chances and fair futures."
While some of the proposals announced yesterday are aimed squarely at easing the effects of the recession, no-one will know until late next year whether they have in any way succeeded.
If they have not, then one of the biggest casualties of the downturn could be the UK Government itself at the General Election in 2010.
