Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid gives his latest verdict on life in the country.

THE recent Queen’s Speech was an opportunity for the Government to get to grips with many of the pressing issues of our time.

Instead, it was a cynical stunt – used by the Prime Minister to set out an agenda he has no intention of delivering.

His funding plans for public services don’t even undo the cuts that the Conservatives have introduced since 2010.

There were no serious proposals in the Queen’s Speech to tackle the climate emergency.

Nothing about how they will tackle poverty and nothing about how they will address the housing crisis.

Poverty is on the rise and hunger is becoming normal once again in Britain.

The economy is weak – it contracted last month. Wages are lower than a decade ago.

Many families are struggling to get by and are borrowing to cover basic expenses.

Almost a fifth of parents have been forced into quitting their jobs due to the extortionate cost of childcare in the UK.

A staggering 8.3 million people are unable to pay off debts or household bills.

And yet there was nothing in the Queen’s Speech to address our stagnant economy, nothing to address low pay and insecure work, nothing to reverse the rising levels of child poverty or of pensioner poverty.

This Queen’s Speech served as a timely reminder of why we need a Labour Government that will rebuild and transform our country.

A Labour Government that will invest in our public services and industries and put an end to poverty and deprivation.

That would bring about the biggest extension of rights for workers our country has ever seen.

Scrapping zero-hours contracts and introduce a £10 living wage – including for young people from the age of 16.

That would put a stop to any attempts to sell-off our NHS.

That would tackle the social care crisis head on by introducing free personal care for those who need it.

That would create a national education service because free education for everyone throughout life should be a right not a privilege.

No more university tuition fees. Free childcare for all two to four-year-olds. A new Sure Start programme.

That would tackle the housing crisis head on by starting the largest council house building programme in a generation. That would stand up for tenants and tackle the leasehold scandal.

That would act on the climate emergency – taking on the big polluters and introducing a comprehensive green industrial strategy.

This Tory Government is intent on tearing the country apart over Brexit. Labour would rebuild it.