Queen's Speech — Spending Cuts, Welfare Changes and Trident — 4 Jun 2015 at 16:50

The majority of MPs voted in favour of proposed spending cuts and changes to the welfare system and in favour of spending on new nuclear weapons.

The debate on the content of the government's legislative programme outlined Queens' speech is technically, and traditionally, on the subject of a message of thanks which the house is to send the monarch for making the speech.

The motion under consideration was:

• That an Humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, as follows:
• 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 amendment rejected following this vote sought to add the following to the end of the message:

• but
• regret that the measures set out do not adequately meet the challenges facing the majority of people across the UK;
• call in particular for your Government to change course on plans for further austerity spending cuts, to reconsider changes to the welfare state that will hit many of the most vulnerable people in our country and to halt proposals to waste £100 billion on new nuclear weapons at a time when vital public services are being squeezed across the country; and
• recognise the overwhelming mandate in Scotland for both the early implementation, in full, of the Smith Commission proposals and the delivery of additional powers for the Scottish Parliament including new powers on job creation, to improve living standards and to protect the welfare state in Scotland.

Proposals to renew the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent have been reported to be costed at around £100bn^[1].

The Conservative party's manifesto for the 2015 elections^[2] stated: "We will find £12 billion from welfare savings".

• [1] Trident: Parliament debates £100bn project - at last., Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, 20 January 2015
• [2] Conservative Party Manifesto 2015 (PDF)

Debate in Parliament | Source |