The Government hangs by a thread and Brexit will dominate the legislative agenda, but four new bills and Jeremy Corbyn will ensure that credit also looms large in parliamentary debate.

After a week’s delay and much conjecture about its contents, Her Majesty finally delivered a ‘filleted’ Queen’s Speech on Wednesday.  The occasion was also stripped of much of its pomp and ceremony because of clashes with rehearsals for Saturday’s Trooping the Colour (nothing to do with that day’s 2.30 at Ascot, we were assured).

Inevitably, none of Mrs. May’s flagship manifesto measures survived, and the focus was very much on Brexit — eight bills to bring about the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and put in place the required statutory framework to keep the country functional after the event.

I will leave the speculation over the prospects of ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ Brexits to those who are paid to comment (there are plenty of them). But before turning to the measures in the Speech of direct relevance to us in the credit industry, two developments over the weekend that seem significant to the national picture.

First, Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury. Not as a support act for Ed Sheeran, but as the first party leader in decades to address the crowds from the main stage; and certainly the first to attract a crowd larger than the Rolling Stones (200,000 according to the organisers). But it’s not just teenagers who appear to have fallen for him. A poll for The Sunday Times puts Labour five points ahead of the Tories, with Corbyn’s approval rating at +17. Even David Davis admitted on the Andrew Marr show there’s currently a “wave of euphoria around Corbyn.”

Second, a Sunday Times report of ministerial support for a Philip Hammond / David Davis ‘joint ticket’ (’dream’ would be stretching it). The rationale is Theresa May is damaged beyond repair and now a liability; and the technocratic Hammond would defuse the politics and at least get Brexit across the line, even in ‘softened’ form, before standing down for a ‘more popular’ candidate ahead of the election scheduled for 2019. ‘Remainer’ Hammond would be watched like a hawk by David Davis, who is trusted by the powerful ‘European Reform Group’ of Hard-Brexit Tory MPs inside Parliament.  Lots of ‘ifs’ but we shall see!

And so to the measures that matter.  There were four bills of relevance to the credit industry; and one that was expected but didn’t materialise.

The missing item first.  There was no specific bill on debt or the period of ‘breathing space’ for struggling borrowers that was pledged by both the Conservatives and Labour in their manifestos.  Having said that, the requisite clauses could easily be added to the first or second of the four bills referenced here.

First, a Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, which will establish a new statutory body, accountable to Parliament, with responsibility for coordinating the provision of debt advice, money guidance and pension guidance.  It will also transfer the regulation of claims management services to the FCA, and transfer complaints-handling responsibility to the FOS. It will include a new power that will allow the FCA to cap the fees that claims management companies can charge consumers, a further excursion into the realm of price regulation (and away from the regulator’s comfort zone as a competition and conduct regulator).

Second, a Goods Mortgage Bill that will modernise the law on logbook loans to increase protections for borrowers, ensure borrowers are better informed about their loan and provide safeguards if borrowers get into financial difficulty. This is of fundamental importance to many members and CCTA has been engaged with the FCA, Law Commission and Treasury throughout on your behalf.  Detailed briefing on our representations and discussions with the authorities is available on request.

Third, a Data Protection Bill to give us a data protection regime ‘fit for the 21st century’. It will significantly strengthen consumer rights and empower individuals to have more control over their personal data including a ‘right to be forgotten’ provided there are no legitimate grounds for retaining the data in question. It also aims to cement the UK’s position at the forefront of technological innovation, international data sharing and protection of personal data

And fourth, a Courts Bill will introduce further digital services, which should make it easier for creditors to pursue cases quickly, enabling easier recovery of debts.

None of these measures stands out as an obvious target for opposition mischief-making. But the issues of credit and debt have great populist potential, so it’s highly feasible that Team Corbyn and fellow travellers in the debt campaigns will seek to insert eye-catching amendments and further restrictions on lending.  There was a taster in The Guardian last week, which reported charities calling on government to use the Queen’s speech to address the ‘bubble’ of unmanageable debt that households are accumulating.  Their prescriptions included extended breathing space for debtors (beyond the six weeks currently offered) and controls on the availability of credit.

There is a sense of credit politics returning to Westminster after a 4-5 year absence in Canary Wharf. The credit industry will feel the Corbyn factor more and more; and CCTA will be building the relationships in the House to act as a bulwark against it.