Queen's Speech — The Economy and Living Standards — 12 Jun 2014 at 16:47

The majority of MPs voted against acting to boost the housing supply, against ensuring at least 200,000 new homes are built each year; against an independent infrastructure commission; against making the energy and banking markets more competitive; against expanding free childcare for working parents; against raising the value of the living wage, against reintroducing the 10% starting rate of income tax; against banning recruitment agencies from hiring solely from overseas; against tougher enforcement of minimum wage laws; against a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people; against a new gold standard vocational qualification and against giving businesses more say on apprenticeships in return for increasing the number of apprentices.

MPs were considering sending a message of thanks to the monarch for attending Parliament to read out the Government's legislative programme.

The proposed text of the message was:

• Most Gracious Sovereign,
• We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

The addition of the following text was rejected in this vote:

• ‘but regret that the Gracious Speech fails to tackle the deepseated cost-of-living crisis with a plan to secure a strong and sustained recovery that delivers rising living standards for the many, not just a few at the top; and
• call on your Government to act to boost housing supply and ensure at least 200,000 new homes are built each year, introduce an independent infrastructure commission, reform the energy and banking markets to make them more competitive for consumers and businesses, make work pay by expanding free childcare for working parents, raise the value of the minimum wage over the next Parliament, introduce a lower ten pence starting rate of tax, set out reforms to ban recruitment agencies from hiring solely from overseas and put in place tougher enforcement of minimum wage laws to tackle the exploitation of migrant workers that undercuts local workers, introduce a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people and a new gold standard vocational qualification and give business a real say on apprenticeships in return for increasing their numbers to ensure that every young person gets the skills they need to succeed in the future.

Debate in Parliament | Source |