Bash, slash, cut and freeze

Bash the unions, slash welfare spending, cut benefits for the young, freeze in-work benefits and add a generous helping of deep austerity cuts. The Queen’s Speech shows the Tories are nasty again.

The first Tory Queen’s Speech for 19 years and the nasty party is back with a bite. They are off down the road to austerity with plans to slash welfare spending, cut benefits for those under 21 year olds, and freeze in-work benefits for the low paid.

The nastiness is finished off with public sector union bashing, possibly more attacks on the right to strike and a newer and more heavily discounted version of right to buy.

The details of what could be the next attack on the right to strike will not be known for nearly 12 weeks. Some Tories have been pressing to make it more difficult to secure a legal strike ballot by demanding higher ballot thresholds especially in public services.

Raising the bar will, of course, make securing a legal strike ballot more difficult. And without unions balloting using modern voting methods it could be little more than an attack on the right to strike.

The Tories may be tempted to go further with attempts to limit protests during industrial action. Some of that may not be clear until after the consultation period but, at this stage, don’t expect anything good.

It appears as if it may be smoothing the way for austerity cuts by making it even more difficult for public sector unions to oppose cuts or attacks on pay and conditions through any form of industrial action.

And the sting in the tail of the trade union bill is an attack on trade union political affiliation. No mention in the manifesto and no detail as yet, but the aim is to undermine Labour Party funding while not touching the few hundred super-rich who fund the Tories.

‘Extremists’

Worryingly we are seeing moves against what the government calls “extremists” – which seems to include anyone the Tories might consider to be “political extremists”.

To the Tory Party’s swivel-eyed wing that can include members of a union planning strike action or protests, legitimate demonstrators, and even those trying to bring the police to account.

The undertone here is all about bashing those they don’t like, bribing those they do. Like with the re-vamping of the “right to buy” – at discounted rates for 1.3m housing association tenants.

That will cost a great deal of money, it is property the government does not own and those sold will not be replaced one-for-one as promised. It fails to tackle the real housing problem getting worse every year which is simple – not enough houses being built.

EU bashing

But at the core is bashing all things European. We’re now, apparently, “one nation” with a draft timetable for exit from the EU and a government still desperate to ditch the Human Rights Act.

Either of these outcomes could split the United Kingdom as the issues themselves split the Tory Party. For anti-Europeans both issues have a common core – they see both as undermining the supremacy of British law and the British Parliament.

The pledge to ditch the Human Rights Act and threats to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights make easy headlines for some papers.

Cameron has run into the brick wall of reality on the issue. He’s pushed back to no more than consulting on a British Bill of Rights.

The threats are on hold for the moment – but the Tories’ swivel-eyed anti-human rights wing and their media cheerleaders are in full froth.

But they’re frothier still on the substantive issue of Europe, the central battleground of the Queen’s Speech.

There will be an EU referendum bill, with an in-out referendum by 2017 to consider Treaty changes and other changes to the UK’s relationship with Europe negotiated by Mr Cameron. Cameron is making busy at the moment meeting European leaders, adding theatrical window dressing.

But he won’t tell his own side what he wants, never mind European leaders. He has no chance of changes to Treaties by the end of 2017 despite the UK’s enhanced role in July to December that year as chair of the Council of Ministers.

So the dog’s dinner of the approach to the Human Rights Act is nothing compared to that which is waiting on a European referendum based on Treaty change promises Cameron cannot deliver.

With that mess, in that context it’s a huge risk with our future – which will just set the Tory and UKIP anti-Europeans calling for another referendum.

Devo confusion

Bolted on to changes with Europe are devolution changes across the UK’s devolved parliaments and assemblies – plus the “Northern powerhouse”. There’s a huge amount of constitutional change – including English votes for English laws – without any obvious over-arching thought being put into it.

So what happens when the South West and East Anglia wake up to the fact they are being left on the economic sidelines? Or the West and East Midlands?

Or if Cameron wakes up and finds he really is a one nation Tory. That one nation being England.

The Queen’s Speech firmly shows the nasty party are back in the saddle, even with a thin majority. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey is staggered by the government’s priorities.

“Given the profound challenges facing this nation, it is staggering that a priority for this government is not to create decent jobs and offer a helping hand to insecure workers but to attack trade unions,” he said.

“Unite has said repeatedly that the way to increase turnouts in strike ballots is not to make it harder for people to exercise fundamental rights, but to modernise voting.  This can be easily achieved through consensus and discussion, and without the division and fear that the government’s approach prefers.

“We urge this government to think again.  People will not be fooled by claims to be the party of working people, if freedoms and democracy are swept away in a tide of repressive laws and showy PR.”