LONDON (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the government's legislative programme for the next year Wednesday, stressing its "overriding priority" was to bolster the economy against looming recession.
The lavish ceremony surrounding the Queen's Speech -- when she speaks from a gold throne in the House of Lords, wearing an ermine robe and a crown studded with nearly 3,000 diamonds -- contrasted with her message of economic caution.
In a 10-minute address written by Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, the queen said ministers would introduce a banking bill to boost protection for depositors after a year of turbulence in the sector in Britain.
This saw the near-collapse of Northern Rock, which was nationalised in February; last week's de facto nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland; and the impending takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.
Brown later also announced plans to help families hit by job losses keep up with their mortgages amid rising repossessions as the credit crunch hits.
"My government's overriding priority is to secure the stability of the British economy during the global economic downturn," the queen told lawmakers and peers crammed into the House of Lords.
"My government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times. The strength of the financial sector is vital to the future vibrancy of the economy.
"Therefore legislation will continue to be taken forward to ensure fairer and more secure protection for bank depositors and to improve the resilience of the financial sector."
Brown gave more details afterwards, saying the current voluntary code of practice for banks -- which requires them to give notice if they are going to withdraw credit facilities for customers -- will be made mandatory.
Lenders could be fined if they fail to comply.
In addition, he said that households unable to pay their mortgage because a breadwinner has lost a job or had their hours reduced will be able to defer payments for up to two years.
Eight lenders, or around 70 percent of the market, have signed up to the scheme, which covers mortgages worth up to 400,000 pounds starting early next year, Brown said.
This year's speech comes against the gloomiest economic backdrop that Brown's Labour Party has faced since coming to power under Tony Blair in 1997.
Official unemployment jumped to an 11-year high of 5.8 percent in the three months to September. In October, Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned it was "likely" Britain was entering recession.
David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, said the government's proposals showed a lack of new ideas.
"There is no recognition in the government's programme about how the world has changed," Cameron said.
"There is no serious reform, there is just bureaucratic bungling, and technocratic tinkering."
The legislative programme was slimmed down from 18 to 13 new bills -- including one on welfare reform and one to enshrine in law the government's vow to "eradicate" child poverty by 2020 -- to allow ministers to focus on urgent economic issues.
Brown reportedly toned down planned measures that could have further damaged retailers already bruised by the credit crunch, for example through restrictions on sales of alcohol and tobacco.
The Queen's Speech marks the start of a new parliamentary session and is a tradition dating back to the 16th century.
Accompanied by husband Prince Philip, the 82-year-old monarch travelled from Buckingham Palace to parliament in a black and gold horse-drawn coach, accompanied by dozens of guards.
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