Today's papers respond to the Queen's Speech.

Independent - Leading article

"Yesterday's Queen's Speech, with its almost exclusive emphasis on law and order, was a shameless piece of electioneering. For a supposedly left of centre party to come up with this catalogue of illiberal, and mostly unnecessary measures would have brought blushes even to the cheek of Harold Wilson.

"But it is was also extremely effective in outflanking the opposition. How could the Tories oppose tougher measures to combat crime, and new laws to increase security, without abandoning their claim to be the party of law and order?

"And how could the Liberal Democrats bang away about the loss of civil liberties without putting off those Tory voters whom it must target in the next election?"

Independent - Michael Brown

"The Tories' clothes have clearly been stolen. Frankly, the Tories might as well let Labour have them for all the good they are likely to do. There surely cannot be a single power the government actually needs to stop terrorists and criminals - insofar as that is possible anyway - that it does not possess already." 

FT - Leading article

"The government's election strategy is this: campaign on populist law and order issues and keep quiet about the European Union; once re-elected campaign furiously for the new EU constitutional treaty in the promised referendum.

"This is a risky strategy, however: the case for the new treaty could be lost by default, forcing an early departure for Tony Blair and leaving Britain on the rocks in Europe."

FT - James Blitz

"Tony Blair's government unveiled a Queen's Speech that was dominated by measures to crack down on terrorism and crime. But the big question hanging over this legislative programme - a question privately asked by some senior Labour figures last night - is whether the "scaremongering" has gone too far."

Telegraph - Leading article

"Rather than be on the defensive about the war on terror [Tony Blair] wants to capitalise on his courageous stance in Iraq and elsewhere, in the face of equivocation and feebleness not only from opposition parties, but also from his own backbenchers.

"The trouble is that only a fraction of the Queen's Speech is really about security. Of the 37 bills and draft bills it mentions, only two relate specifically to fighting terrorists (although another five deal with crime)...

"More worrying are the other 30 bills in the Queen's Speech, which are mostly a ragbag of bureaucratic measures, alarming to anyone who is not a human rights lawyer, animal rights activist or lobbyist.

"Coming hot on the heels of last week's brouhaha about banning smoking, hunting and salt in food, they are a manifesto for big, fat government."

Guardian - Leading article

"In the end, after eight years, there surely has to be more to Labour's election appeal than all this.

"And yes, if you look at the full list of legislation - 32 bills and counting - and if you read the whole of Mr Blair's speech yesterday, not just the bits that were designed for the headlines, there is lots of government activity on other fronts, too.

"But it is a dismal verdict on Labour's two terms that the government's publicity machine is so determined to downplay everything except crime and security."

Guardian - Max Hastings

"Whatever protest some of these measures provokes, Tony Blair can say to his own party dissidents: do you or don't you want to continue to govern after 2009?

"No one doubts Labour's ability to win next year's general election. The party's campaign for public security looks forward to the one after."

Times - Leading article

"Ministers find themselves in the strange position where the failure of the likes of al Qaeda to launch attacks here is taken not as evidence of an effective, if stretched, intelligence and policing operation, but as proof that no danger existed in the first place.

"It has become fashionable to express distrust in politicians. A little more faith on the matter of terror would be sensible."

Times - Simon Jenkins

"Mr Blair has clearly read the runes from George Bush's victory in America. Security is used neatly to link the world of al Qaeda, bombings and beheadings to a harmless drunk rolling down the neighbourhood street.

"Republican speeches similarly linked terrorism with domestic crime, East Coast liberalism and gay marriage. Mr Blair wants to push the same buttons. Labour politicians are eagerly pointing out that they have outflanked the Tories and 'put the Liberal Democrats on to the back foot'."

Mail - Leading article

"Frenzy, frenzy, frenzy. New Labour's torrents of parliamentary bills are quite cynically calculated to disguise the fact that nothing of substance is changing."

Sun - Leading article

"The principal duty of any government is to protect the lives of the people. The raft of new laws set out in the Queen's Speech show that the government is not shirking that responsibility."

Mirror - Leading article

"The Tories were reduced to falling back on their big lie that this government has done nothing. Tony Blair and his ministers have done a great deal but there is still a huge amount to do. Yesterday's plans are only a start."

Express - Leading article

"No amount of 11th hour promises should close our minds to the years of failure. After seven and a half years in power, Mr Blair and his government have still not made us feel safer. That is the record they should be judged on, not the hollow promises which made a mockery of the state opening of parliament yesterday."