CLUELESS Conservatives have run out of ideas to confront the country’s crisis, campaigners and trade unions claimed after PM Rishi Sunak’s programme for the next year was unveiled today.

The King’s Speech setting out the Tories’ plans — likely the last before the next election — was long on right-wing posturing and short on measures to deal with economic hardship and social problems.

A centrepiece was bringing in the strike-breaking minimum services agreements in key public services, which will force workers to work on strike days.

It also included previously announced plans to ban smoking by young people, merge A-levels and apprentice qualifications and invest in a nebulous “network north” transport system.

Other legislation will toughen up criminal sentencing to appease the Tory right wing, stop football clubs joining breakaway leagues, deal with London pedicabs, ban the export of livestock and increase scrutiny of tech firms.

Westminster was agreed that it hardly constituted the dynamic election-winning programme that Mr Sunak’s Tories desperately need as the Tories trail Labour by 20 per cent or more in most polls. 

The crisis was blandly blamed in the speech on Covid and the Ukraine war.

One measure missing was Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s proposal to ban local authorities from distributing tents to homeless people, following her widely criticised view that sleeping rough was a “lifestyle choice.”

Trade union reaction was uniformly negative. Unison general secretary Christine McAnea accused the government of “wasting time and energy attacking unions.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Britain is crying out for a government agenda that puts people before profits and looks to rebuild industries and communities that have been neglected for too long. This King’s Speech totally fails to deliver.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak argued that “having promised numerous times to bring forward an employment bill to tackle insecure work the Tories have junked this promise and are now attacking people’s fundamental right to strike.”

PCS members employed as cleaners, security guards and support staff for outsourced contractor ISS at three government departments staged their second of a 36-day strike over pay today, with pickets in force outside Parliament to coincide with the King’s Speech.

Tom, a rep who led the ISS picket, said: “The contrast between our members fighting for a fair settlement in a cost-of-living crisis and the millions being spent by government departments on the pomp and ceremony of the state opening of Parliament couldn’t be clearer.”

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis commented: “There was nothing in the King’s Speech which will help people stay warm this winter — no mention of an Emergency Energy Tariff for vulnerable households nor a Help to Repay scheme for the record numbers currently in energy debt.”

Cynon Valley Labour MP Beth Winter called the speech “yet another lost opportunity to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and the scandalous underfunding of public services in Wales.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called it “the last gasps of a morally bankrupt government, out of ideas and running out of road.”

He added: "Across Scotland, people want an end to Tory incompetence, chaos and division and help with making ends meet.”