THE Queen’s Speech delivered the normal colourful pomp – and the clearest evidence yet that the Coalition’s shared purpose has all-but disappeared.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg sat together in the Chamber yesterday, but appear to agree on little beyond the latest - Ukip-targeting – crackdown on immigrants.

And, even there, despite the show of unity, many months of hard talks on the details lie ahead, with legislation delayed until the autumn.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy voiced his anger about the “Dutch auction” to be toughest on migrants, suggesting some unease in Nick Clegg’s party.

Meanwhile, Coalition-friendly measures – to target cheap booze, force firms to sell fags in plain packets and prevent backsliding on foreign aid – have been dumped to calm Tory backbenchers.

And the Prime Minister is prevented from offering more EU-bashing red meat to his troops, because it won’t wash with the Lib Dems.

If a Tory backbencher brings forward a Bill to stage a referendum before 2015 – and No.10 gives in to pressure to back it – that will further inflame Coalition tensions.

Mr Cameron’s overwhelming focus is now the Ukip threat, as demonstrated by the hurried welcoming back into the Tory fold, yesterday, of I’m A Celebrity... rebel Nadine Dorries.

The jungle jaunt MP had the Conservative whip restored – months after being suspended – because of panic that she might otherwise desert to Nigel Farage’s rising party.

Even the substantial measures yesterday – on pensions, social care and high-speed rail – won’t kick in until long after the Coalition is history.

That points to two long years, before the General Election in 2015, when it will be harder and harder for ministers to point to real differences being made to people’s lives.

Of course, come the election, the Government will stand or fall on whether it has finally dug the economy out of its deep trough.

For that reason, June’s crunch spending review – setting out a further £11.5bn of cuts from 2015 – is a far more important political event than the Queen’s Speech.

Also, it is not unusual for Governments to show signs of running out of steam by their fourth legislative programme, with manifesto pledges either on the books or dropped.

The difference is that the Queen’s Speech then becomes more of an early glimpse of the next manifesto – an option not open to a Coalition of two separate parties.

The strong impression yesterday was of a Government that has made all the big changes it can in this Parliament, on the NHS, benefits, schools and universities.

What lies ahead is a lot of finger-crossing that the economy will bounce back before Messrs Cameron and Clegg’s date with the voters. In other policy areas, they will be judged on what has happened since 2010 – not on the next two years.

TRIBUTES were paid again yesterday to Sir Stuart Bell, at the first state opening of Parliament since the Middlesbrough MP’s death in October. Praised as a “kind, decent man” by Mr Miliband, it also gave the Labour leader the chance to joke about Tony Blair’s recent criticism of his performance.

Mr Miliband said, of Sir Stuart: “He also wrote an autobiography. Tongue-in-cheek, it was called Tony Really Loves Me. At times, I know exactly what he meant.”