Queen leaves for Parliament to kick off Boris Johnson's new era

Queen’s speech live: Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves for Parliament to kick off his new era as he fleshes out plans to ‘get Brexit done’ and boost the NHS

  • The Queen is opening the new look Parliament in a stripped-back version of the traditional ceremonial event 
  • Boris Johnson is putting forward plans to boost funding for the NHS and enshrine the extra money in law
  • Commitments to increase police numbers and tighten up UK’s borders with points-based immigration system
  • The government’s first priority will be to force through legislation needed to implement the PM’s Brexit deal
  • Second Queen’s Speech in just two months but the context could not be more different after Tory election win

The Queen is on the way to Parliament today to kick off Boris Johnson’s new political era – fleshing out plans to ‘get Brexit done’ and boost the NHS. 

The monarch is about to depart Buckingham Palace for the scaled back ceremony, where she will lay out the government’s agenda.

It is the second time she has made the trip in two months, but the context could hardly be more different, with Mr Johnson having secured a huge 80-strong majority in the bombshell election. 

The legislative programme is expected to contain 40 bills and introduce sweeping changes targeting the NHS, the legal system and Brexit. 

The Prime Minister intends to put the health service at the heart of the Government’s legislative programme alongside moves to finally force through EU withdrawal by the end of January. 

The Government will enshrine in law a commitment on NHS funding, with an extra £33.9 billion per year provided by 2023/24, Mr Johnson said.

The Queen’s Speech will also include proposed legislation to abolish hospital car parking charges for ‘those in greatest need’ – likely to include disabled people, parents of sick children staying overnight, and staff working night shifts.

The NHS Funding Bill is intended to be the first piece of domestic legislation put on the statute book after the proposed passing of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which the PM says will lead to the UK quitting the EU on January 31.  

Boris Johnson left for Parliament today as the Queen prepares to kick off his new political era

The Queen will return to Westminster today to deliver her second speech in two months 

The PM said the Government would also pledge to make it easier for hospitals to manufacture and trial innovative medicines.

And an independent body would improve patient safety by investigating concerns and incidents raised by patients and families

MPs will vote on the PM’s Brexit bill tomorrow and, if passed as expected, it will enshrine in law his pledge to end the transition period in December 2020 and also give British judges more powers to overturn rulings by the European Court of Justice. 

Downing Street said the Queen’s Speech would also confirm an additional £1billion for social care every year of the new Parliament.

Boris Johnson’s government will also ‘urgently seek’ a cross-party consensus for long-term reform so nobody has to sell their home to pay for care, Number 10 said.

The Queen’s Speech will also commit to increasing levels of funding per pupil in schools.

New legislation will see terrorists spend longer behind bars and make it easier for police to stop and search known knife carriers, Downing Street said. 

What’s in the Queen’s Speech?  

  • NHS Funding Bill to lock in extra £33.9billion health spending over the next four years
  • Measures to scrap hospital car park charges for ‘those in greatest need’, including the disabled, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts
  • Fast-track visa system for medics with a job offer, to help boost nursing ranks by 50,000 and number of GPs by 6,000
  • Constitutional reform, from scrapping the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act to a review of Supreme Court’s role
  • Legislation to make it easier for hospitals to manufacture and trial innovative medicines
  • Amendments to Human Rights Act to protect Armed Forces veterans from malicious prosecutions
  • Shake up of corporate governance rules, likely to include a review of the role of the ‘Big Four’ accountants
  • Workers’ Rights Bill to ensure rights are ‘protected and enhanced’ after Brexit
  • Minimum Service Agreement Bill to force public sector unions to provide a skeleton service during strikes in essential services like the railways
  • Laws to prepare for life after Brexit – covering points-based immigration system and measures to manage customs, agriculture and fishing
  • Strengthened Sentencing Bill to ensure minimum jail term of 14 years for adults convicted of serious terrorist offences
  • School ‘funding guarantee’ to provide increased resources in areas that lost out in past

The legislative measures will also include proposals to ‘stop vexatious claims’ against members of the armed forces.

Mr Johnson’s determination to push through Brexit will also allow him to look at other aspects of British law and policy. 

The Queen’s Speech will include a bill setting up a new ‘constitution, democracy and rights commission’ promised in the Tory manifesto.  

The Human Rights Act is also expected to feature, after the Conservative manifesto pledged to update it.

That move is likely to prove contentious as the act has been used to bring several high profile judicial review cases, which the government have had to fight.  

One source said that the government fears the Human Rights Act and judicial reviews are being used as a political weapon.  

The source told the Times: ‘We will be looking at updating the Human Rights Act to provide greater protections for national security.’

Discussing the tax breaks, Tory sources said they would be worth up to £12,500 a year. 

Mr Johnson warned Tory MPs last night that they would start the New Year with a frantic week of Commons sittings to push through the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill. The Commons will hold its first vote on the legislation in a special sitting tomorrow, paving the way for departure on January 31.

But Tory strategists have also ordered a big package of funding and reform for the National Health Service. They argue that delivering on Mr Johnson’s pledges on the issue is essential if the Conservatives are to lock in the support of first-time Tory voters who helped them to electoral victory last week.

Mr Johnson underlined his determination to be seen to be acting on the NHS by holding a reception for nurses in Downing Street yesterday. He told them the Health Service was ‘the single greatest institution in this country’.

The Prime Minister: ‘The pressures and demands are enormous and we have to help you cope with that. We have to invest and as you may have heard in the last few weeks, we are. We are upgrading hospitals, and building new hospitals.’

A Tory source added: ‘The way we win the next election is to show we have delivered on our promises on health. We want to neutralise the NHS as an issue for Labour at the next election, and that means making sure we deliver now.’

The Queen’s Speech will contain 40 bills and introduce sweeping changes targeting the NHS, the legal system and Brexit

The announcement on business rates confirms that hundreds of thousands of small businesses will get additional help with bills next year. The plan, which is designed to give struggling town centres a shot in the arm, will increase the retail business rates discount from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.

The tax break will apply to all independent shops, pubs restaurants and cafes in England with a rateable value below £51,000 – roughly 90 per cent of the total.

For the first time, the discount will be extended to independent cinemas and grassroots music venues.

Independent pubs will benefit from a further £1,000 cut in business rates on top of the 50 per cent relief.

Chancellor Sajid Javid said: ‘We want to reinvigorate communities up and down our great country, helping people put the heart back into the places they call home. That’s why we’re taking action to save our high streets and keep pubs, cafes and hairdressers open by slashing their business rate bills by a half.’

Today’s Queen’s Speech is the second in two months and Government sources said the ceremonial elements of the event would be pared back because of its proximity to Christmas.

The Queen will deliver the address but will wear a ‘day dress and hat’ rather than the usual ceremonial robes and crown.

New Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has also had to scale back plans to reinstate the role’s full ceremonial dress after officials were unable to find the traditional full-bottomed wig, last worn in 1992. 

 

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