Queens Speech, Good and Bad

We've just had the Queen's Speech outlining what the government intends to do this year.

Let's start with the really bad part of it. 22 bills. 22. Are they serious? I know they want to be a great reforming government blah blah blah. But they're a government that wants cuts, that wants to do less, apparently. And they're starting this process with 22 bills? There should be about 6, probably. There's way too much clutter on the agenda, and this means way too many people doing way too much stuff; all the teachers and nurses and policemen and the rest are all going to have yet another bunch of things to adjust to, rather than just carrying on with their jobs. If the Tories and Lib Dems had really meant that they wanted government interfering less, they could, rather than having a new bill on changing school curricula, instead just not have a bill at all. Wait. Do nothing. That would be radical, and revolutionary, and welcome.

That said, there's stuff in this speech that's welcome, and stuff that's unwelcome. Unwelcome are the ludicrous Free Schools. They will be used as a trojan horse to get businesses to run schools, of course. But, frankly, I think that's mostly a misplaced fear. Because, really, this is a classic "Big Society" idea of Dave's, which means that it's ideologically fine for him, but he forgets that society is apathetic as anything and you struggle to find school governors in the most polite and middle class of surroundings, so really there is just not going to be much take up of the idea. It's silly, and ideologically screwed up, but it will be harmless because nothing much will actually happen.

Other stupidity is stuff like setting the state pension to be earnings linked again. Why would you put one of your absolutely highest ticket items, and make sure it increases ahead of inflation? You're in the middle of an economic crisis, and we're told we've got a horrendous sovereign debt problem. So you're going to throw more money away? And what message does this send, too? Under Labour, at least we were finally getting it into everyone's thick heads that there's not a hope in hell that the government can afford to pay for their retirement in 20 years time. Has the demographic time-bomb suddenly magicked away? I don't think so. We still won't be able to pay your pensions, folks, this is just a short term, pointless and expensive splurge that'll make it harder to wind down the state pension when they actually need to.

But - a vote on AV (and, cunningly, it seems, some Labour types might sabotage this and put in an amendment to make it STV, which could really screw the Tories...) is hugely welcome. And reform of the Lords: hopefully fully elected, but if not then leaving appointed peers with only speaking rights. And getting rid of ID cards. And restricting government use of DNA and CCTV. There's a lot of excellent liberal stuff here. Get this through and Britain will be a more liberal, more relaxed, more tolerant, less statist and less overbearing place.