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Queen's Speech: What is on Boris Johnson's to-do list? | |
(1 day later) | |
Sitting on the Sovereign's Throne, Elizabeth II delivered the 65th Queen's Speech of her reign to Parliament earlier. | |
The speech outlined the government's agenda for the coming parliamentary session, with 26 bills - pieces of proposed legislation - spanning health, education, defence, technology, transport and crime, as well as Brexit. | |
Here's what the Queen's Speech contained, and what it may mean in practice. | |
Brexit | Brexit |
What the speech said: "My government intends to work towards a new partnership with the European Union, based on free trade and friendly co-operation." | |
What it means: If Boris Johnson can secure a deal this week - which is backed by MPs - he will then need to pass the European Union Agreement Bill, ratifying it into UK law. | |
Her Majesty also spoke of "new regimes" post-Brexit for fisheries, agriculture and trade and a new immigration system. All of these require new laws. | |
Law and order | |
What the speech said: "My government is committed to addressing violent crime, and to strengthening public confidence in the criminal justice system." | |
What it means: Law and order dominated the government's announcements. They included separate bills covering sentencing, foreign national criminals, extradition, serious violence, prisoners and police protections. | |
The extradition bill would create powers to immediately arrest suspected criminals who are in the UK but wanted in other "trusted" countries. | |
The sentencing bill would push back the automatic release point for violent and sexual offenders from half-way to two-thirds of the way through a sentence. | |
A Foreign Nationals Offenders Bill would increase the maximum punishment for those who return to the UK in breach of a deportation order. | |
Rail | Rail |
What the speech said: "Proposals on railway reform will be brought forward." | |
What it means: Ministers are signalling that a new commercial model for the railways will arrive in 2020, replacing the existing franchised system - with more details to be published soon. | |
NHS | NHS |
What the speech said: "New laws will be taken forward to help implement the National Health Service's Long Term Plan in England." | |
What it means: On top of a renewed commitment to the plan - first published under Theresa May - the government will focus on improving mental health care and will bring in new laws aimed at improving patient safety and increasing the number of clinical trials for new drugs. | |
Health is devolved, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have other plans. | |
Adult social care | |
What the speech said: "My government will bring forward proposals to reform adult social care in England to ensure dignity in old age." | |
What it means: In the long term, ministers are promising a further consultation - in the form of a green paper - on reforming the existing system. | |
In the shorter term, local authorities could be allowed to increase council tax by an extra 2% to raise £500m towards paying for care for the elderly. | |
Environment | Environment |
What the speech said: "For the first time ever, environmental principles will be enshrined into law." | |
What it means: Recalling especially pollutant vehicles, charges for certain single-use plastics and protecting trees are just some of the measures being considered in a new environment bill. | |
There is also a strong focus on animal welfare, with bills pledged increasing the sentence for animal cruelty. | |
Devolution | Devolution |
What the speech said: "A white paper will be published to set out my government's ambitions for unleashing regional potential in England, and to enable decisions that affect local people to be made at a local level." | |
What it means: The government is not committing to specific new laws in this area, but the policy paper is expected to expand the number, powers and funding of local mayors in England. | |
Grenfell and Windrush | |
What the speech said: "My Ministers... will bring forward laws to implement new building safety standards." | |
What it means: With the continuing fall-out from the Grenfell disaster in 2017, ministers plan to put into law a new safety framework for high-rise housing blocks. | |
It would include giving local residents more of a say and putting in place strong significant sanctions for house builders that don't meet the safety standards. | |
The government also plans to pass a new law to secure the compensation scheme for victims of the Windrush scandal. | |
Drones and tips | |
What the speech said on drones: "An aviation bill will provide for the effective and efficient management of the UK's airspace." | |
What it means: A bill would give police more powers to tackle unlawful use of drones and other model aircraft following last year's high-profile disruption at Gatwick airport. | |
What the speech said on tips: "Take steps to make work fairer, introducing measures that will support those working hard." | |
What it means: This is a popular measure, welcomed by Labour, that would force employers in England and Wales to distribute all tips to workers without deductions. | |
ID for voting | |
What the speech said: "My government will take steps to protect the integrity of democracy and the electoral system." | |
What it means: A new law is being touted which would require people to show photo ID to vote in UK elections. | |
Labour says this is an attempt to "rig" the next election, by suppressing turnout among younger and ethnic minority voters. | |
Carried-over bills | Carried-over bills |
There are four pieces of legislation that were "carried over" from the last session. | |
This means the government has decided to carry on from where they left off before prorogation, rather than starting from scratch. | |
The four include the Domestic Abuse Bill, which has cross-party support and started its journey through Parliament at the beginning of October. | |
What next? | What next? |
After six days of debate, MPs will vote on the Queen's Speech and any amendments made by MPs. | |
Boris Johnson, who does not have a majority in the Commons, is at risk of potential defeat. The last PM to lose such a vote was Stanley Baldwin in 1924. |
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