The Queen’s speech to Parliament was delivered two days late. Only Jeremy Corbyn defied tradition and did not bow his head to the Queen on entering the House of Commons. While the Queen said her government would concentrate on Brexit, everyone noticed that most of the ideas in the Theresa May manifesto were missing from her speech. The “day of rage” against the Tory government, inspired by the Labour, was a non-event. Chuka Umuna, MP, with 50+ Labour politicians, has formed a new anti-hard Brexit group to provide the strongest possible opposition to the Tories.
So far there is no Tory deal with the Democratic Unionist Party. The Telegraph reported there had been a breakdown in communications for a full 36 hours. The Tory Party is confident of DUP support this Thursday at the vote on the Queen’s speech, probably at a cost of £2billion. Many are saying the whole DUP association is unnecessary, as the DUP would never have voted against anything that would have allowed Corbyn to steal a march. The Queen’s speech can still be viewed as a confidence motion in the old tradition. It is expected that the Queen’s speech will be accepted, but if the Conservatives lose the vote on the Queen’s speech, Prime Minister May will be under political pressure to resign or she might face an immediate vote of no confidence from Labour.
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, Theresa May has said that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea could not cope and the chief executive officer has now resigned. May is personally chairing the Grenfell Tower Recovery Task Force. An emergency community hub has been established, staffed by 40 officials from six government departments, to make sure people have essential documents like driving licences and passports. Each family, whose home was destroyed, is receiving a £5,000 down-payment from the government emergency fund to buy food, clothes and essentials; all additional adults over 16 in these households are receiving £500 in cash. These payments are grants, not loans.
A former fire chief officer warned the former housing minister that cladding could be a deadly threat, but nothing was done. It is now believed that up to 600 tower blocks may have combustible cladding. The PM has urged the councils to take immediate action. 151 homes were destroyed in the Grenfell fire, most in the Tower itself and several in the immediate vicinity. Already 164 suitable properties have been identified and are being readied for people to move into. Everyone whose home was lost is guaranteed a new home on the same terms as the one they lost. 68 flats in a posh Kensington development by the Barclay Brothers will be made available to permanently house some families made homeless by the fire.
79 people are dead and the tragic toll may yet rise London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for protection for any illegal migrants who may have been resident in the Grenfell Tower and survived, but are too frightened to come forward for fear of prosecution. Khan has told LBC Radio he is backing a complete amnesty for anyone who comes forward.
Makram Ali from Haringey has died, the victim of a late night terror attack at the Finsbury Mosque in North London. The attack was perpetrated by the Islamophobic Darren Osborne, from Cardiff- Wales, who drove a rented van into Muslims leaving the mosque after Ramzan prayers. 11 people were injured. Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command is investigating the case. Met Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick said, “London is a city of many faiths and many nationalities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us.” The Commissioner has announced that an additional 1,800 officers across the Met will be equipped with Taser to better protect the public from the threat of violent incidents. In nine out of ten cases, the presence of a Taser is enough to de-escalate a situation and bring it to a conclusion. In the latest operation to stop knife crime in London, it was revealed that 2,700 people have been charged with the possession of knives in the last year.