Tony Blair and Michael Howard have clashed over the government's record in office.

Michael Howard opened the debate on the Queen's Speech with a withering attack on the government's legislative plans.

"Labour has promised far too much has delivered far too little," the House heard during the first debate of the new session.

"This is a prime minister who has lost its grip and a government which has lost its way.

"This prime minister and his government are simply unequal to the task.

"All they have to offer is open wallets and empty minds."

Whilst he praised the "political courage" of Tony Blair in Iraq, he said the domestic agenda left a lot more to be desired.

Blair had been in office "longer than Attlee" but, "in the words of Paul Daniels", had "not a lot" to show for it.

Elements of the Queen's Speech were "constructive" and won warm words from Howard.

The Civil Partnerships Bill addressed the "genuine grievances" of gay and lesbian people, the Tory leader said.

In a departure from his predecessor's position he announced that Conservative MPs would have a free vote on the plans.

The disability right legislation was welcome and the Civil Contingencies Bill was necessary, Howard added.

But there was "a general feeling of disillusionment" as Labour enters its seventh session, he said.

Blair's record was one "sorry story of incompetence" and failure on issues such as asylum, transport, education and crime.

"This government have wasted the last six and a half years reversing the measures introduced by the last government and then reintroducing them," he said.

The government's asylum proposals were "despicable" and went far further than any government should go.

"Children of asylum seekers are to be taken into care to force their parents to leave the country," he said.

"The prime minister and the home secretary should be ashamed of themselves.

"We shall oppose any legislative provision that seeks to give effect to this despicable provision."

The "pensions crisis" would get worse despite Labour's legislation.

And the Tory leader reminded MPs of the government's earlier manifesto commitments.

"What of the pledge in the 1997 Labour manifesto to make the House of Lords more democratic," he said.

"Well we now know exactly what the prime minister means by democracy - one flatmate one vote."

"And what happened to that pledge in 2001, just two years ago, 'we will not introduce top-up fees'," he mocked.

Howard went on to attack the "10 year feud" between the prime minister and his chancellor.

"Who's the leader and who's being led, real prime ministers lead their chancellors and he follows his," he asked witheringly.

"The prime minister may strut his stuff on the world stage but when it comes to domestic policy, never in recent history has a prime minister been so weak, so feeble, so utterly unable to do what he wants," he said.

"And all this with a huge majority in this House. How utterly humiliating for him - and how very damaging for our country."

Branding Howard "Mr Poll Tax", Blair hit back with a counter-attack on the Conservative leader's past record.

"He's got form as long as your arm...on almost every occasion when there was a crime against this country, he was on the scene," the prime minister told MPs.

"His crimes were in government and six and a half years in opposition is not long enough for him."

Blair said the Tories' real objective was "to mount a ceaselessly negative attack without anything positive to say about the future".

Turning to the government's programme, the Commons was told that continuing economic stability would be a top priority.

The prime minister hailed progress in cutting NHS waiting times and the modernising of healthcare facilities.

"Yes there is a long way to go, but let no one pay any attention to the campaign of the party opposite to say nothing has happened in the last six years, because it simply isn't true," said Blair

Conservative polices on health would "take this country backwards" and benefit the rich.

Blair also highlighted measures to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and lambasted "fantasy" Conservative policies on asylum.

And he said the issue of fox hunting would be settled before the next election.

"Two themes run through the Queen's Speech, the future and fairness," concluded Blair.

"Contrast that with the negative destructive campaign waged by the party opposite."

The Liberal Democrat leader said that there had been a "sense of disappointment" about Labour's achievements in its first term.

"Since then I think that sense of disappointment... is instead turning to a sense of despair," Charles Kennedy said.

He warned that the trend would not be reversed by the new Queen's Speech.

Kennedy said much of the legislative programme was "extremely disappointing" and would have little impact on the public.

He criticised the prime minister's failure to address the on-going "war on terrorism" and the greater risks caused by the war in Iraq.

Many of the proposed reforms could also pose a threat to civil liberties, Kennedy warned.

And he slammed the latest plans for asylum reform.

"There is more than a hint of cheap populism about them," he said.

However, he welcomed new legislation to allow civil partnerships of homosexual couples.

The debate had started in a less high octane manner.

Opening the debate with a traditionally light hearted speech, senior Labour MP John McFall paid tribute to the England rugby team's World Cup victory.

Making reference to Howard, he mentioned that England coach Clive Woodward had too "been written off just four years ago".

A former Northern Ireland minister, McFall also praised the work of the prime minister in Ulster on the day of the Stormont assembly elections.

"He has never failed to give Northern Ireland the attention it deserves," he said.

And as chairman of the Treasury select committee he welcomed the government's record in job creation and the announcement of the new child trust funds.

"The programme outlined today shows that they are focused and determined as ever to achieve their objectives," he concluded.

Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda seconded the Queen's address.

He reminded the Commons of Harold Wilson's famous quote that "we only ever win the World Cup under Labour governments".

And he credited the measures announced to improve pensions protection as well as the child trust funds.

"This is a Queen's Speech that improves that quality of my constituents lives from the cradle to the grave," he said.