The Queen’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament is when the government lays out its agenda for the months ahead.
But despite it being the number one electoral issue ahead of last week’s local election according to pollsters, bringing down the cost of living was barely mentioned.
James Andrews, Senior Personal Finance Editor at money.co.uk said: “Listening to Prince Charles’ speech at the state opening of parliament, you could be forgiven for thinking the government wasn’t quite aware there was a cost of living crisis going on at the moment.
“While it was mentioned in his first sentence as a priority, there was then almost nothing that would do anything to help it in the plans for actual bills to be placed before parliament.
“We heard about Jubilee celebrations, post-Brexit regulation changes, immigration, education, planning rules and more – but silence on the most pressing issue of the day.
“The Energy Bill, designed to lower carbon emissions and increase energy security, was there – but its benefits won’t be felt in full for years to come. There was a plan to ‘promote competition, strengthen consumer rights and protect households’ mentioned – but with the energy price cap determining the bills most of the country pays at the moment I’m not sure how that will benefit anyone in the short term.
“And finally there was a brief mention that ministers would support the Bank of England’s attempt to bring inflation down to 2% – which is hardly news given that’s been the target for almost 20 years now.
“Given price rises are now at 30-year highs and the Bank of England is forecasting inflation of close to 10%, rising unemployment and falling growth in the months to come, this lack of a clear plan in dealing with it, is an odd absence indeed.”
