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Address in Reply to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech

My Lords, you can tell that I am getting tired and that the hour is late. The mantra is that there have been 51 quarters of continual growth. There have, but this Government were not responsible for them all. They were building on the first bit; it all came down to our government. Only last week, the CBI warned that there was a worrying outlook for the United Kingdom's manufacturing industry. A potential increase in the service industry clearly helps with employment, but United Kingdom plc cannot earn its living in the world simply through more hairdressers, flipping hamburgers or something like that. When, as seems probable, Gordon Brown takes over as Prime Minister during this Parliament, there will be one important difference. Prime Minister Blair inherited a golden economy from John Major and Kenneth Clarke. Prime Minister Gordon Brown will inherit a failing economy from Chancellor Gordon Brown.