Redwood First To Attack Queen's Speech

The Euro-sceptic former Welsh Secretary, who is among six Conservatives vying for the party leadership, has criticised all of Labour's main policy initiatives. He accused Tony Blair's party of naivety in its dealings with Europe and of advocating "expensive bureaucratic government" in its plans for devolution.

Mr Redwood was also critical of the government's education policy which was Labour's key issue during the election campaign: "This Queen's Speech will reveal that the Government is driven by ideology in education rather than by a belief in standards and choice. "It will show they are naive in their European negotiations and that their economic policy lacks the winning touch."

Mr Redwood also opposed moves by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, designed to make the Bank of England more independent. He claimed Mr Brown was "slavishly following the tenets of the Maastricht Treaty". He claimed that the governmentÕs plans for the economy would lead to the abolition of the pound.

Tony Blair's plan to scrap the twice-weekly Prime Minister's Questions session and replace it with a single half-hour session also came in for criticism: "Mr Blair and his colleagues have shown enthusiasm for the photo opportunity only surpassed by their enthusiasm for demolishing our democracy."

Another leadership contender, the former chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, has warned that a 'lurch to the right' will lead to the Conservatives becoming split and could make them un-electable but Mr Redwood said this was not his aim: "I am not urging the party to move to the right, I am urging the party to get back in line with what the party membership and the voters want us to do."