IT'S TOUCH AND GO IF OUR REMAINING RIGHTS CAN BE REMOVED BEFORE THE ELECTION: Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Queen's Speech is nobody at all seems to believe the ridiculous "planes flying into Canary Wharf" story leaked to ITN and the Mail to soften us up for more terror-inspired withdrawal of our rights. It comes to something when Trevor McDonald can pop up during Corrie's Maya-blows-up-Dev's-shops hystericofest, and manage to sound even more implausible than the drama.

Anyway, the details of the plans aren't all about throwing us in prison for having thought crimes:

+ Extending child benefit to people with 16-19 year olds in further education is a pretty good idea
+ It'll be in the details, but it's about time charity law had an overhaul. If it means Eton has to admit its a business, it could be a good thing
+ The local environment things sound good in principle - about time something was done about light pollution
+ Crossrail - it'll be fucked up by the time it happens, but building crossrail could at least give the chance of a sensible transport policy at some point in the future
+ Inquiries bill - we can't see a government dominated by lawyers actually allowing this to make public inquiries faster and cheaper, but you never know your luck
+ Draft commons bill - that's as in green patches of land. This could be positive; it seems to be aimed at creating something like a informal protected area for places that are part of "the rural cultural identity of England and Wales"
+ Mental health laws overhaul - again, something that's been needed for quite a while.