Today all the pomp and ceremony - the carriages, the robes, the Coldstream Guards - doesn't just mark the start of a new Parliament, it marks a clean break from the past and a new start for our country.
This Queen's Speech shows what we're all about as a government. It's not a shopping list of superficial, eye-catching goals put together for the party interest, or a wish list to please vested interests. It's a programme of practical, achievable plans drawn up in the national interest.
And this Queen's Speech is different in substance as well as style. Our coalition government has been formed around three key principles: freedom, fairness and responsibility.
We want to build a country that is more free, where government gets off people's backs and trusts in their common sense. A country that is more fair, where every young person believes nothing can hold them back. And a country that is more responsible, where we're all aware of our obligations to each other, where people ask not 'what are my rights?' but 'what are my responsibilities?'.
Of course we can't simply bring this vision into law. But you can see these values running through each and every Bill that was set out today. Freedom - in the Freedom Bill and its proposals to scrap ID cards. Fairness - in our Education Bill and its plans for a pupil premium so that the poorest children go to the best schools, not the worst. Responsibility - in our Welfare Reform Bill and its proposal to cut benefits for those who can work but refuse to work.
You can read a detailed breakdown of the Bills here. As you read you'll see the way this coalition government works. We're about devolving power, not centralising it; trusting people, not dictating to them; saving money, not wasting it. That's how we've started with this Queen's Speech, and that's how we mean to go on

Diane Abbott enters Labour leader race after Community pressure
Thursday, 20 May, 2010 16:05

Press Release – Immediate 20th May 2010

TO NEWS/POLITICAL DESKS Contact: Ashok Viswanathan
07584 177 529 / 020 8983 5430

Diane Abbott enters Labour leader race after Community pressure

Diane Abbott today announced her candidacy for the Labour leadership. The race was heading towards being an all white male affair until this news.

Abbott has been the M.P. for Hackney North and Stoke Newington for 23 years having doubled her majority in the 2010 election. Her announcement will be welcomed by the progressive Labour movement.

Diane Abbott MP said:
So many people in the past 48 hours have asked me to put my hat in the ring and I have finally decided to do so. The other candidates are all nice and would make good leaders of the Labour Party, but they all look the same. We cannot be offering a slate of candidates who all look the same. The Labour Party's much more diverse than that. I looked at the field and said 'If not now, when?' And 'If not me, who?’

OBV Director, Simon Woolley:
Diane Abbott standing for the Labour leadership is a much needed boost to the race. Her candidacy will bring the Black experience centre stage, and the equality agenda to the forefront of leadership battle. As a backbencher for over 20 years she brings unparalleled experience of the grassroots, and unprecedented knowledge as the only candidate who was an MP in Opposition. Furthermore, as a Black woman, Diane will inspire others to aspire to high office and say ‘Yes we can’.

Lee Jasper, chief political correspondent of the Voice said:
Diane Abbott deserves our congratulations for being the first Black woman in British political history to stand for the leadership of a mainstream party. Her leadership bid will be an equality litmus test for the Labour Party.

Note to Editors:
1) Operation Black Vote is a non-party political campaign. 2) The term ‘Black’ is a political term. It refers to African, Asian, Caribbean and other ethnic minorities. 3) There are 27 Black MPs in Parliament -16 Labour -11 Conservatives