Queen's Speech A Disappointment For Worcestershire (West Worcestershire Liberal Democrats)

West Worcestershire Liberal Democrats <contact.us@westworcslibdems.org.uk>

Queen's Speech A Disappointment For Worcestershire

November 6, 2007 4:54 PM

"A disappointing string of announcements with no vision" - that's the verdict of West Worcestershire's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate as local residents digest the contents of the Queen's Speech, the government's plans for the coming year.

In a message to residents, Richard Burt said: "Many towns and villages in Worcestershire has suffered from flooding this year, a result of global warming and climate change which is caused by carbon emissions. The government's response is to bring in a weak Climate Change Bill that lacks targets and the real action needed to tackle the problem.

"Thousands of residents in Pershore, Malvern, Upton, Tenbury and other towns and villages across the county are hit hard by council tax, the unfairest tax around. But there was no mention of scrapping it and replacing it with a fairer system based on ability to pay.

"Many local people are unable to live in a home of their own because the government has failed completely over the past decade to ensure there is enough affordable housing. Yet the measures in the Queen's Speech on housing will only scratch the surface of the problem in for Worcestershire residents.

"Gordon Brown has been at the heart of the Labour government since it came to power over ten years ago. He has now been Prime Minister for four months. Yet there is little in the way of a vision in the Queen's Speech of where he wants to take the country.

"Much of it is a collection of knee jerk reactions, rather than a picture of where Labour wants to take the country. And much of the rest is about grabbing headlines by trying to look as if problems that Labour have failed to tackle over the past decade are now being taken seriously.

"Many people in the towns and villages of Worcestershire will be disappointed by this Queen's Speech from the government. What could have been a great stride forward for both Worcestershire and the country has turned out to be a timid mishmash that will get us nowhere."