As I sit down to write this week’s column, the Queen’s speech has just been concluded by Prince Charles, deputising for the Queen for the first time in 59 years.

The Queen’s speech is not only an event of pomp and ceremony but lays out the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Parliamentary Session.

While there were 38 pieces of legislation mentioned within the Queen’s Speech, this speech can be summarized quite easily quite easily as a speech of missed opportunities at the choice of the Prime Minister.

This could have been a speech where the concerns over the cost of living crisis that is currently gripping the nation could have been addressed with an emergency budget or a bill to propose a windfall tax on large energy companies.

But the government have decided not to help you.

This, despite the Bank of England’s predictions of things getting even worse by September and inflation rising to 10 per cent. 

This could have been a speech where employment rights were boosted and the shocking practice of fire and rehire, that we recently saw with P&O, finally brought to an end.

But the government chose not to back you in the workplace.

Meaning today is a great day for rogue employers, with the government’s failure to bring forward an Employment Bill leaving millions without vital rights and protections.

This could have been a speech that aimed to protect those who are most vulnerable in what is becoming an increasingly divided, scary and fractious world.

But the government showed where their priorities were, choosing to throw the Human Rights Act on a bonfire following the calls of precisely no one.

This could have been a Queen’s Speech where animal welfare was strengthened with the banning of foie gras and fur imports.

But the government has chosen to maintain its off-shoring of animal cruelty with ministers, describing it as too un-Conservative.

Fur coats and posh nosh preferred to stopping the needless pain and suffering felt by animals across the world.

This was a speech that showed that there no plan for our creaking health service, to deal with the ever increasing back log of appointments that are needed.

There’s no plan to deal with access to NHS dentistry or to increase the number of GP appointments that are available which for areas like Bury we are in drastic need of.

There was no plan to tackle either the stigma or the problem of addiction, which is a matter close to my heart.

This was a speech where housing and planning weren’t mentioned once.

A speech where working people have been conned.

A speech that won’t help those that need it as our country lurches from crisis to crisis.

A speech where a government is increasingly out of touch by the choices of its own prime minister.

And I predict a speech that will no doubt unravel before the year is out.