The Queen's Speech, which sets out the UK Government's priorities for the year ahead, has been blasted as a "lost opportunity" by one Renfrewshire politician.
It has also come under fire from poverty campaigners and union leaders left disgruntled by the content.
A total of 38 bills were announced as part of the much-anticipated Queen's Speech, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged would get the country "back on track".
It comes as the nation is pitched into a chronic cost of living crisis which has seen Renfrewshire households struggle to make ends meet.
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The Queen's Speech, which enables the Government to outline its proposed policies and legislation for the coming session.
Written by ministers, it comes as part of the State opening of Parliament, which marks the formal beginning of the Parliamentary year.
The occasion had already hit the headlines after the ageing Monarch, who is said to be suffering from mobility issues, pulled out of attending for only the second time in her 70-year reign.
Setting out the government's priorities for the year ahead, action on measures to ease the cost of living and boost economic growth were expected.
But the letdown event was slammed as "an insult" by Nats MP Gavin Newlands.
The Renfrewshire North politician slammed the occasion as a "lost opportunity" to help hard-pressed households like those in Renfrewshire.
He dismissed the flagship speech as instead focussing on plans to "privatise government assets" and "repeal human rights legislation".
The SNP man said: "This Queen’s Speech was a lost opportunity for the UK Government and quite frankly an insult to the millions of households who are doing their best to deal with the worst cost of living crisis in five decades.
"With the Bank of England now forecasting inflation hitting over 10% later year, the price of everything from food to fuel is skyrocketing, yet the focus of Boris Johnson and his cabal seems to be selling off Channel 4 to their pals in the City of London and stripping us all of our basic human rights.
"Energy bills are due to soar yet again in October, yet the main energy proposals are about heat pumps."
He added: "That simply isn’t good enough and is certain to plunge even more families and households into fuel poverty and put an even greater stranglehold on our economy and our society.
"Meanwhile the cruel and inhumane social security system run by the UK Government remains untouched, our sick and disabled people treated appallingly by Department of Work and Pensions more interested in saving pennies rather than supporting those who need our help.
"No wonder the UK is seen as the sick man of Europe by our overseas allies, a mixture of pity and despair as they watch the country sink further into the mess created by the Prime Minister and his chums.
"It’s time we had a government in Edinburgh with the full powers of independence, ready to meet the challenges of the coming decades with real action, not more pomp, ceremony and hot air at the heart of Westminster."
Even energy bosses have waded into the current cost of living row which has seen household budgets crippled.
Scottish Power boss Keith Anderson has gone on record to call on the government to help households with rising energy costs.
He said he feared the situation would be "horrific" when further hikes hit the price of electricity and gas in October.
Inflation, currently at a 30-year high, could also hit double figures later this year, the Bank of England has warned.
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, warned: "People want a UK Government that believes in compassion and justice, and in making sure everyone can live a dignified life. This Queen’s Speech has failed to live up to those values.
"People in poverty are struggling to keep their heads above water, and more and more of us are being drawn into a current of poverty by the cost of living crisis. The UK Government needs to deliver urgent help with rising bills to keep households afloat. There was nothing but a brief mention on that."
Union bosses at the GMB have also criticised the blueprint for government.
Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary, said: "The Government needs to understand we can’t have energy security if it keeps sending essential renewables work overseas to authoritarian regimes.
“For too long, Ministers have sat back and allowed thousands of UK jobs in this key industry of the future to be lost to other nations.
"The UK Infrastructure Bank Bill offers a great opportunity to fix this."
The speech included provision for a Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to enshrine the Government’s flagship “levelling up” plans into law.
It will make it a legal duty for the Government to report its progress on lessening inequality between different parts of the UK, and give local leaders fresh powers.
It also contained provision for a mental health bill, British Bill of Rights, the dispute sale of Channel Four and the Brexit Freedoms Bill - a wide-ranging piece of legislation expected to give ministers the power to repeal various EU laws written into the UK statute book without a Commons vote.
Critics say it will increase the power of ministers over parliament.
Boris Johnston defended his government's position, telling the Commons: "We will get through the aftershocks of covid just as we got through covid, as I have told you, with every ounce of ingenuity and compassion and hard work, not by irresponsible spending that merely treats the symptoms of rising prices while creating an ever bigger problem for tomorrow but by urgently pressing on with our mission to create the high wage, high skill jobs that will drive economic growth across the whole United Kingdom.
"That is the long term sustainable solution to ease the burden on families and businesses. That is the way to get our country back on track after the pandemic."
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