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Key Bills of the draft Queen's Speech
David Cameron taunted Gordon Brown today over leaked proposals that the Prime Minister should star in a reality TV show, telling MPs that he should call an election instead so that the British people could tell him: "You're fired!"
The Tory leader clashed with Mr Brown after the Prime Minister attempted a political relaunch with a draft Queen's Speech that he said was designed to help those hardest hit by the economic slowdown.
Following yesterday's U-turn over the 10p tax crisis, Mr Brown announced a Savings Bill which would create a scheme for eight million people on low incomes, with each pound saved matched with a contribution from Government.
He also plans a Banking Bill, which would bolster protection for depositors in the event that a bank collapses in future in the same way as Northern Rock - and measures to help first-time buyers during the property slowdown.
The Prime Minister said that other proposals to be uneviled in full in November would include a constitution for the NHS, ensuring a good quality of healthcare.
An Immigration Bill will establish a tougher test for British citizenship, including requirements for newcomers to learn English and to show that they are making an economic contribution to the UK. Only full British citizens will get full access to benefits or social housing.
There will also be legislation, subject to agreement both by the employers, trade unions and by the European Union, to protect the rights of agency workers.
An Education Bill, meanwhile, would make schools more accountable to parents and giving them the right to regular information on their children’s progress.
"Building a more prosperous Britain and a fairer Britain is the purpose of the draft legislative programme published today for debate in this House and the country," Mr Brown said.
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, yesterday announced the government was borrowing a further £2.7bn to compensate those who lost out when the 10p tax rate was scrapped. Mr Darling today denied that he had "re-written" the Budget.
The Government was also embarrassed by two "photo-leaks".
First Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister, was photographed arriving at Cabinet bearing speaking notes which showed that she expected house prices to fall this year by 5 to 10 per cent "at best".
Then it emerged that Hazel Blears, the Communities Minister, had been snapped carrying the print-out of an e-mail referring to a proposed political reality show starring Mr Brown. "It is a golden opportunity for the PM to gather a youth manifesto and become more popular than Alan Sugar (along with certain cabinet colleagues!)," the e-mail said.
That gave Mr Cameron an open goal today: he said that Mr Brown should not bother with a TV show just call an early election. Borrowing Sir Alan's catchphrase from the Apprentice, he said: "Wouldn't it give everyone the chance to stand up in front of the Prime Minister and say: 'You're fired.'"
Mr Cameron added that Mr Brown's legislative plans were "another relaunch" by a Prime Minister had run out of ideas. He claimed that several of the plans of substance, including that for an NHS constitution, were originally his party's ideas.
"I hope, when the Prime Minister gets up, we will get a bit of gratitude. He can't really say we have not got any substance when he has taken it whole and put it in his Queen's Speech," Mr Cameron said.
Of the banking proposals, he said: "Haven't we got a Banking Bill because the regulatory system he created 10 years ago failed in its first test over Northern Rock?"
He also said that the Prime Minister was using the statement to try to deflect attention away from the last Queen's Speech - since which he is still struggling to convince MPs of the need to detain terror suspects for 42 days without charge.
"No wonder he wants to talk about next year's Queen's Speech," he said.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, pointed out that the draft Queen’s Speech had been delivered two months earlier than last year.
“We already knew that the Tories will say anything to get elected - now it is clear the Prime Minister will try anything to cling to power," he said.
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