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Queen's Speech: New laws on crime, health and the environment Queen's Speech: New laws on crime, health and the environment
(32 minutes later)
Policies on crime, immigration, health and the environment form the heart of Boris Johnson's new legislative agenda, to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech. Boris Johnson's government has set out "ambitious" policies on crime, health, the environment and Brexit in a Queen's Speech that opposition parties have dismissed as an "election manifesto".
Plans to end the free movement of EU citizens to the UK after Brexit and provide faster access to medicines will also be among 22 new bills announced at the State Opening of Parliament. Plans for tougher sentences for violent offenders and legal targets for cutting plastic pollution are among 26 bills set out at Parliament's State Opening.
Ministers say it is an ambitious programme for a post-Brexit Britain. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said it was a "long shopping list".
But with the PM having no majority, many of the bills may not become law.But with the PM having no majority, many of the bills may not become law.
And the BBC's political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, said there was no guarantee the Queen's Speech - which is written by the government - would be approved by Parliament. If MPs reject it, it will trigger renewed calls for a general election. Our political editor said the PM was keen to focus on "bread and butter issues" like funding for schools and the NHS, or coming up with, at long last, a new way of caring for the elderly.
Labour has described the whole exercise as a political "stunt". But she said there was no guarantee the legislative programme would be approved by Parliament. If MPs reject it, it will trigger renewed calls for a general election.
Labour has described the whole exercise as a political "stunt" while the Lib Dems said Mr Johnson couldn't deliver on his promises as Brexit would make the UK poorer.
Despite continuing Brexit uncertainty, the government has said it is determined to press ahead with its plans, announcing its intention to hold a Budget on 6 November.Despite continuing Brexit uncertainty, the government has said it is determined to press ahead with its plans, announcing its intention to hold a Budget on 6 November.
Negotiations over the UK's departure from the EU continue, with the UK trying to secure an agreement that will enable the UK to leave by 31 October.Negotiations over the UK's departure from the EU continue, with the UK trying to secure an agreement that will enable the UK to leave by 31 October.
The government says if it can strike a deal with the EU, it will introduce a withdrawal agreement bill and aim to secure its passage through Parliament before the Halloween deadline. The government says if it can strike a deal with the EU, it will introduce a withdrawal agreement bill and aim to secure its passage through Parliament before the Halloween deadline, although intensive talks over the weekend failed to produce a breakthrough.
Intensive talks over the weekend failed to produce a breakthrough, with EU officials openly discussing the prospect of a further extension and the PM saying "a significant amount of work" remained. The Queen's Speech is famous for its pageantry - with the monarch arriving at the Palace of Westminster in a carriage procession and delivering her speech from the throne in the House of Lords, flanked by the Prince of Wales.
The Queen is officially announcing the government's legislative agenda for the year ahead as she opens the new session of Parliament. Mr Johnson, whose government took office in July, said it was focused on "seizing the opportunities that Brexit present".
The occasion is famous for its pageantry - with the monarch arriving at the Palace of Westminster in a carriage procession and delivering her speech from the throne in the House of Lords. The 26 bills include:
Mr Johnson, whose government took office in July, has said the Queen's Speech will focus on "seizing the opportunities that Brexit present". There is also a commitment to reform adult social care in England, although no legislation.
The 22 bills are expected to include: New measures will also be brought forward to tackle electoral fraud, including requiring people to show an approved form of ID before voting in general and local elections.
There are also proposals for tougher sentences for serious and violent crime, improving building standards, and increasing investment in infrastructure and science. A shake-up of the rail franchising system in England is also being proposed to improve service reliability, reduce "fragmentation" and introduce a "greater distance" between ministers and the day-to-day running of the network.
'Election manifesto''Election manifesto'
Mr Johnson said the programme demonstrated that Brexit was not the limit of the government's ambitions. Mr Johnson said the programme, which includes four bills carried over from the last session, demonstrated Brexit was not the limit of the government's ambitions.
"The people of this country don't just want us to sort out Brexit," he said. "This optimistic and ambitious Queen's Speech sets us on a course to make all that happen, and more besides.""The people of this country don't just want us to sort out Brexit," he said. "This optimistic and ambitious Queen's Speech sets us on a course to make all that happen, and more besides."
Former Tory cabinet minister Dominic Grieve, who now sits as an independent after rebelling over Brexit, said he would only decide whether to back the Queen's Speech once he saw its contents. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was a waste of time.
While there were likely to be things he would be happy to support, he said the PM would find it "very difficult" to govern while the issue of Brexit was unresolved.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Sky News the whole exercise was a waste of time.
"Having a Queen's Speech and a State Opening of Parliament is ludicrous," he said. "What we have got in effect is a party political broadcast from the steps of the throne.""Having a Queen's Speech and a State Opening of Parliament is ludicrous," he said. "What we have got in effect is a party political broadcast from the steps of the throne."
And the SNP's Joanna Cherry said it was "an election manifesto for the Conservative Party, which will almost certainly be rejected in Scotland". The SNP's Joanna Cherry said it was "an election manifesto for the Conservative Party, which will almost certainly be rejected in Scotland".
A different Queen's Speech Former Tory cabinet minister Dominic Grieve, who now sits as an independent after rebelling over Brexit, said the PM would find it "very difficult" to govern until Brexit was resolved.
By the BBC's political correspondent Nick Eardley That was a very long shopping list of things, but the unsaid reality, of course, is that the biggest question hanging over it all is Brexit.
This Queen's Speech will feel rather different. The Queen may have said with certainty in her opening lines that the UK will be leaving on 31 October, but there's no way anyone in this square mile can be sure that happens. Whether it happens - and how it happens - is a much bigger influence than anything we've just heard being said.
Boris Johnson does not have a majority in Parliament and cannot guarantee that he will be able to pass all the bills announced this morning. In many ways, it's a Queen's Speech from a parallel universe - one in which Boris Johnson gets his way. Where he definitely gets his deal with Brussels by the end of this week, he definitely gets it through Parliament on Saturday and definitely gets all the Brexit legislation passed. It's also a world in which he definitely gets the general election he wants in the next few weeks and then definitely gets a Conservative majority.
There is no guarantee the Queen's Speech itself will even pass. Add into the mix the fact that he wants a general election and some of what you will hear will feel more like a pitch to the country than a concrete plan for the next year in Whitehall. We shouldn't dismiss this speech - it does mean something, but what it means is this is what we are likely to see as the basis for a Conservative manifesto whenever that election does come.
There is also the fact that whatever is announced in the House of Lords could quickly be overshadowed by what happens in Brussels.
A lot has been spoken about crucial weeks at Westminster. This really feels like it could be one - where key questions are answered. Can the PM get a new Brexit deal? If so, can he persuade Parliament to back it? If not, can MPs force him to delay Brexit again?
Strap yourself in - it could be a bumpy few days.