Queen's Speech - a disappointment for Hillingdon

12.26.00pm GMT Wed 7th Nov 2007

"Thousands of residents of Hillingdon are hit hard by council tax, the unfairest tax around." Cllr Cox

"A disappointing string of announcements with no vision" - that's the verdict of Liberal Democrats in Hillingdon as local residents digest the contents of the Queen's Speech, the government's plans for the coming year.

In a message to residents, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman Mike Cox said,

"Thousands of residents of Hillingdon are hit hard by council tax, the unfairest tax around. But there was no mention of scrapping it and replacing it with a fairer system based on ability to pay.

"Many people in Hillingdon are unable to live in a home of their own because the government has failed completely over the past decade to ensure there is enough affordable housing. Yet the measures in the Queen's Speech on housing will only scratch the surface of the problem in Hillingdon.

"Gordon Brown has been at the heart of the Labour government since it came to power over ten years ago. He has now been Prime Minister for four months. Yet there is little in the way of a vision in the Queen's Speech of where he wants to take the country.

"Much of it is a collection of knee jerk reactions, rather than a picture of where Labour wants to take the country. And much of the rest is about grabbing headlines by trying to look as if problems that Labour have failed to tackle over the past decade are now being taken seriously.

"The governments proposals for climate change are both weak and ineffective. The targets will make little difference to the overall problems faced."

"Many people in Hillingdon will be disappointed by this Queen's Speech from the government. What could have been a great stride forward for both Hillingdon and the country has turned out to be a timid mish-mash that will get us nowhere."