Published: Friday, 27th November, 2009 12:00pm

Rob Wilson's Westminster Diary, November 26, 2009

by Rob Wilson MP

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OVER the past four years I have been part of the procession of MPs that makes its way to the House of Lords after being summoned by Her Majesty.

This year, with a guest, I watched from the Royal Gallery. The monarch is obliged to follow a prescribed route through Parliament, following Charles 1's attempts to arrest MPs for high treason in January 1642. So I knew I had a very good view of the pomp and pageantry.

What I didn't expect was the role the New Labour hierarchy played in proceedings.

Feminist Harriet Harman, student radical Jack Straw, and Prince of Darkness Peter Mandelson, were all on prominent display.

Here were people who, in the past, pledged to sweep away the monarch and the House of Lords now filling privileged establishment positions. Just like that old hypocrite Neil Kinnock, a leading critic of the Lords until offered a chance to become Baron Kinnock of Bedwelty!

Her Majesty's speech was a mere six minutes 45 seconds and was political rather than legislative.

It is distasteful how Labour uses The Queen's Speech in overtly political ways. The Bill to halve Government debt over the next four years was the most alarming, because of the fact that a British Government felt the need to put that in its legislative programme.

The reason the Government has done this is to reassure the markets, which are on the verge of dumping us as a financial basket case.

The Bill was supposed to signal 'we're serious about these deeps cuts in public spending'.

Unfortunately a few days later it emerged Government borrowing is now likely to be £200bn this year (ie it borrows about £1 in every £4 it spends). So by Thursday the markets needed further reassurance and the Prime Minister had to make clear significant tax rises were coming.

Yet the Government pledges more and more spending. It is now beyond recklessness; our economic position could not be any worse for a modern western economy.

Margaret Thatcher once said: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money [to spend]."

This time it is worse, because they have not only spent all our money, but also that of several future generations!

The Queen's Speech pomp and ceremony was worthy of the Mother of Parliaments, but make no mistake the country is in the mother of all financial messes.

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