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LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May promised on Wednesday to listen more closely to business concerns about her country leaving the European Union as she set out a Brexit-focused government programme, pared back to reflect her weakened authority.
Chastened by an election which left her Conservative Party short of a majority in parliament and reopened debate on the nature of Britain’s EU exit, Theresa May also sidelined reform on social care, education and corporate governance.
May’s two-year programme, known as the Queen’s Speech and prepared by ministers, was read out by Queen Elizabeth at parliament’s opening ceremony. She has yet to secure a deal with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to prop up her government.
The queen told lawmakers from both the upper and lower houses of parliament that the government was committed to building “the widest possible consensus” on Brexit, working with parliament, devolved administrations, business and others.
“My government’s priority is to secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the European Union,” the queen said.
The traditionally ceremonial address, usually dominated by pageantry, was a crucial testing ground for the prime minister’s ability to run the country during its most challenging period for generations.
Her authority has been badly damaged just as Britain begins Brexit negotiations. Four militant attacks have raised questions about her grip on national security, and the death of at least 79 people in a tower block fire has become a flashpoint for public anger at her party’s record in government.
“The election result was not the one I hoped for, but this government will respond with humility and resolve to the message the electorate sent,” May said in remarks introducing the policy plan.
“First, we need to get Brexit right. That means getting a deal which delivers the result of last year’s referendum and does so in a way that commands maximum public support.”
The shift to a more consultative tack drew a cautious welcome from business groups, which worry that May’s plan focuses more on controlling immigration than protecting the economy.
Her new approach will be tested almost immediately, when she travels to Brussels on Thursday for a summit of EU leaders.
Lawmakers will have to approve the speech in a vote, expected on June 29, that will be a de facto vote of confidence. Minority governments are a rare occurrence in British parliamentary politics as the electoral system usually produces a governing majority.
Theresa May is under increasing pressure to do a deal with the DUP to support her government after nearly two weeks of talks.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, whose surprisingly strong election performance damaged May, called the speech “thin gruel”. He said the government was ignoring the need for important domestic reforms to promote social justice.
“A threadbare legislative programme from a government that has lost its majority and apparently run out of ideas altogether,” he told parliament.
The Queen delivered the speech in a toned-down ceremony that dispensed with a horse-drawn procession to parliament, and she swapped her crown for a blue hat. The changes to the ceremony were planned and due to a lack of rehearsal time.
She was accompanied by Prince Charles because her 96-year-old husband, Philip, was taken to hospital with an infection.
Brexit focus
As London sweltered in unseasonably hot weather, about 250 protesters gathered outside parliament after the speech, blaming the deadly fire in London on years of Conservative cuts and demanding the fall of May’s government.
May apologised for the government’s inadequate response to that fire and acknowledged the country faced “difficult times”.
“Not every problem can be solved by an act of parliament,” she said. “Our response to disaster and acts of terror which take the lives of innocent people must be this: compassion, unity, resolve.”
Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017
