Queen's Speech 2015: EU referendum, tax cuts and Right to Buy expected
Queen's Speech 2015: EU referendum, tax freeze and right-to-buy
(about 2 hours later)
An EU referendum, tax cuts for low-earners and an extension of Right to Buy will be promised in the first all-Conservative Queen's Speech since 1996.
An EU referendum by the end of 2017 is among a packed programme of new laws in the first Conservative-only Queen's Speech in nearly two decades.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the speech would set out a "clear vision for what our country can be".
It also includes more free childcare, an income tax freeze and the right-to-buy for housing association tenants.
Labour said the reality would be "very different from the rhetoric", while Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will accuse the Tories of abandoning liberalism.
David Cameron said the 26-bill package was a "programme for working people" that would create full employment and "bring our country together".
The Queen's Speech is the centrepiece of the State Opening of Parliament.
The measures were unveiled by the Queen amid the usual pomp and ceremony.
It sets out the government's legislative plans and is expected to be delivered by the sovereign just after 11:30 BST, in the presence of MPs, peers and other dignitaries in the House of Lords.
The proposed legislation includes:
Measures that are expected include:
Many of the proposed new laws were promised by the Conservatives during the general election campaign.
Mr Cameron said he would not "waste a single moment" in delivering his manifesto promises following the Conservatives' election victory.
But Mr Cameron will be able to press ahead with plans previously blocked by the Liberal Democrats after winning an overall majority on 7 May.
These include a bill paving the way for a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, promised by 2017.
These include an Investigatory Powers Bill to give intelligence agencies new tools to target internet data, dubbed a "snooper's charter" by critics.
While the precise wording of the question to be put to voters has not been confirmed, the Yes option is expected to be to remain part of the EU.
But the prime minister has delayed plans to scrap the Human Rights Act to avoid a potential confrontation with his own backbenchers. Instead, the government will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act, with legislation expected following consultation later in the parliament.
There will also be a pledge that nobody working 30 hours a week or less on the minimum wage will pay any income tax, and housing association tenants will also be given the same right to buy their homes as people living in council accommodation.
Mr Cameron's flagship policy of giving 1.3 million housing association tenants in England the right to buy their homes at a discount, is in the Queen's Speech.
A consultation, rather than new legislation, is expected in relation to Conservative plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights, BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said.
Another key priority for the new government is Chancellor George Osborne's Northern Powerhouse plan, with a bill paving the way for HS2 and another piece of legislation enabling cities to bid for an elected mayor, with more powers over transport, planning, policing and health.
Proposed legislation, aimed at trying to limit abuse of human rights laws, has been criticised by some Conservative MPs.
There is also a Trade Unions Bill, imposing a 50% turnout threshold on strike ballots, with a further requirement in essential public services for strikes to be supported by 40% of those entitled to vote.
Michael Gove, the new justice secretary, is leading the proposals, which are expected to be on hold until wider consultation has taken place.
Reading out the speech, which is prepared for her by the government, from her throne in the House of Lords, Her Majesty said: "My government will legislate in the interests of everyone in the country.
Analysis by political editor Nick Robinson
"It will adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration, giving new opportunities to the disadvantaged and bringing different parts of our country together."
Their own party is exhilarated by their surprise victory and have still not unlearnt the habit of discipline which served them well in the run up to polling day. Newly elected MPs can't vote on anything for a few days and many are still finding their new desks.
Mr Cameron described his first legislative programme as the head of a Conservative government as an agenda for "working people," with three million more apprenticeships promised over the next five years and a new law to ensure the minimum wage remains tax free.
So, Team Cameron have a few days, maybe weeks, perhaps even months to sell positive messages before the real world intrudes.
"There should be a job for everyone who wants one - in other words, full employment," said the prime minister in his introduction to the Queen's Speech.
Don't imagine for a second, though, that this can last. Intrude the real world will… and soon. Indeed, the first signs are that it already is.
He said that after the British economy was hauled back from the brink of disaster in 2010, the UK now stands "on the brink of something special".
The decision not to table a Bill to scrap Labour's Human Rights Act and strengthen the role of the British courts against the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg tells you all you need to know.
'Bold first step'
It combines all David Cameron's real world problems - his party and the Tory press's "obsession" with Europe (his word not mine); a tiny Commons majority of just a dozen; a House of Lords which has an anti-government majority and a newly resurgent SNP.
"We have a golden opportunity to renew the idea that working people are backed in this country; to renew the promise to those least fortunate that they will have the opportunity for a brighter future; and to renew the ties that bind every part of our United Kingdom.
Read Nick's full blog
"We now have the mandate to deliver that renewal. And it starts with this Queen's Speech."
Environment Secretary Liz Truss said she would not speculate on what would be in the Queen's Speech but insisted the Human Rights Act was "not working for the British people" and the government was "very clear" it would be ultimately replaced by a British Bill of Rights.
He described the programme as "the bold first step of a One Nation government," which would create a Britain whose people could "get a decent job, have a good education, buy a home of your own, have dignity when you retire and feel safe and secure throughout your life".
"We will absolutely do it. It is a manifesto commitment," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But Lib Dem leader and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg accused Mr Cameron of abandoning the "liberal stance" espoused by the previous coalition government.
But Labour said David Cameron had "got into a mess" over the issue while former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, back in Westminster as an SNP MP, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "They can't get [the legislation] through. That's the bottom line."
Harriet Harman, Labour's acting leader, said the Conservatives wanted to "set the nations of the country against each other" and threaten "basic rights at work".
Mr Salmond said: "It just indicates that a majority of 12 in Parliamentary terms is actually very little. There's going to be a range of key votes where the government comes under real pressure and will find themselves in headlong retreat."
The SNP said the Scotland Bill, would be a test of Westminster's "good faith" towards the Smith Commission, the cross-party group which recommended more powers for Holyrood, such as setting income tax rates and controlling a share of VAT.
Queen's Speech in numbers
Sir John Major was prime minister last time an all-Conservative government unveiled a Queen's Speech.
Mr Cameron said his programme would mean that "wherever you live you can have the chance of a good education, a decent job, a home of your own and the peace of mind that comes from being able to raise a family and enjoy a secure retirement".
But Harriet Harman, Labour's acting leader, said the Conservatives wanted to "set the nations of the country against each other" and threaten "basic rights at work".
Mr Clegg - who was deputy prime minister until the general election left the Lib Dems with just eight MPs - is to respond for his party.
He will criticise moves to replace the Human Rights Act, saying it is "dispiriting - if pretty unsurprising" that the Conservative government is "turning its back" on the liberal stance championed by his party in the coalition.
Following the Queen's Speech the new Parliament session will begin in the afternoon, with the Commons and Lords debating the policies set out.
Coverage of the State Opening of Parliament begins on BBC One and the BBC News Channel at 10:30 BST. You can also watch online via Democracy Live.
