Queen's Speech failed NHS - Cameron

12 April 2012

Tory leader David Cameron has accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of "incompetence" as he hit out at his failure to legislate on the NHS and MPs' expenses.

In Commons debate on the Queen's Speech, Mr Cameron said what was "most striking" about the legislative plans was what was missing from them.

He said there was no mention of the NHS, supposedly one of the clear "dividing lines" between the Conservatives and Labour.

But the "biggest omission of all," which would infuriate the British people, was over MPs' expenses.

"You said the whole reason for delaying the election ... was because you wanted to clean up the mess of MPs' expenses. Yet there is no mention of expenses or the Kelly report in the Queen's Speech," he told Mr Brown.

"What about the three letters, that I believe should be in any Queen's Speech - NHS? Not a mention. It is clear the National Health Service is not this Government's priority."

Mr Cameron said some things in the speech, such as home school contracts and pay transparency, were welcome - and were first proposed by the Tories. But he accused the Prime Minister of trying to legislate a whole series of ideas "saying virtue is good and then try and dare his opponents to vote against them".

He added: "Well we're not falling for that one" and went on to tell Mr Brown: "Your election campaign's just collapsed, perhaps we could now get on with the election.

"If this dividing line is so important, why isn't it in the Queen's Speech? No mention of the NHS. You're so incompetent you failed to put your own dividing line into your own Queen's Speech."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg attacked the "fantasy" of the Queen's Speech from a Government that had "run out of road in a Parliament that has lost the people's trust". He instead called for an "emergency programme of political reform" of a Parliament which had "destroyed its own legitimacy" following the expenses scandal.

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