Summary
- The Queen set out the government's agenda for the next year in the State Opening of Parliament
- Legislation to take the UK out of the EU on 31 January was among more than 30 bills announced
- Other plans laid out included increased funding for schools and the NHS and measures to improve internet safety
- Boris Johnson said it was the most radical programme in a generation and would herald a new "golden age"
- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said those swayed by the PM's promises would be sorely disappointed
- The Brexit bill is set to come back before MPs on Friday
- Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry and Norwich South MP Clive Lewis will run to become Labour's next leader
- The State Opening of Parliament brought a return to the Westminster wrangling today, after MPs were sworn in.Here's a quick round-up of some of today's events:
- Boris Johnson's government has outlined its plans for this Parliament, with more than 30 bills featuring in the Queen's Speech.
- Seven were on Brexit - covering legislation on trade, agriculture, fisheries, immigration, financial services and private international law. Others included increased funding for schools and the NHS and measures to improve internet safety.
- The government has re-published a new version of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which it expects to be approved tomorrow. You can read Laura Kuenssberg's analysis here.
- Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, confirms that MPs will then get three further days to debate the bill on 7, 8 and 9 January.
- Shadow Treasury minister Clive Lewis has joined Emily Thornberry in the race to become the next Labour leader. Mr Lewis told the Guardian he feared "necessary truths may go unspoken" if he didn't put himself forward.
- Momentum's national coordinator, Laura Parker, announces she is to stand down from her role with Labour's grassroots campaign group to spend more time with her family.
- Scotland's first minister has called on the UK government to transfer more powers to Holyrood to allow another referendum on Scottish independence.
- Talks between the main party leaders in Northern Ireland have been held today but are yet to succeed in their aim to restore Stormont.
- The Independent Group for Change - which once boasted 11 MPs - is being disbanded after failing to win any seats at the general election
- Former Tory MP Zac Goldsmith - who also lost his seat in the election - has been handed a life peerage, allowing him to continue in his role as environment minister
- And the government has said it will close its Department for Exiting the European Union (aka the Brexit department) on 31 January.
What's next?Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation that enables the UK to leave the EU - will come back to the Commons for a second reading tomorrow.Friday will also be the last day that MPs sit in the Commons before the Christmas recess. - A bit more on that statement from Jacob Rees-Mogg.MPs will get three further days to debate the bill which ratifies Boris Johnson's Brexit deal, if as expected the legislation is given a second reading tomorrow.The Commons Leader said the remaining stages of the Bill - including the chance for MPs to propose amendments at committee - were scheduled for January 7, 8 and 9.It would then proceed to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.When the prime minister proposed three days of intensive debate for the bill in October, MPs rejected the plan saying there would not be enough time to scrutinise the bill.
- The leader of the house, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has made a statement on future business in the House of Commons.He says Parliament will return on 7 January to debate the prime minister's Brexit deal - the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
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Business of the House of Commons, 20 December 2019 - 10 January 2020, is as follows:
30 people are talking about this - Momentum's national coordinator, Laura Parker, has announced she is to stand down from her role with Labour's grassroots campaign group.In an email to Momentum supporters, she says that whilst she's leaving the staff team, she is "not leaving the movement".She writes: "My commitment to transformative policies, a member-led Labour party and building a more equal, peaceful world remain steadfast."I just now need to spend time with my family - as I hope you will be able to over the holidays."Momentum sources say she was already planning to go earlier in the year – but decided to stay for the election.In her letter she rejects any suggestion that Momentum are a fading force – saying more than 500 new members had joined since the election.
- Labour's Emma Lewell-Buck, the MP for South Shields, says she will support Boris Johnson's Brexit deal when it is put to a vote in Parliament.The Withdrawal Agreement Bill is the legislation that enables the UK to leave the EU.Ms Lewell-Buck, whose constituency voted to leave the EU, says she "will do right by those who put their faith in me".
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Genuinely worried and deeply saddened we keep making the same mistakes on Brexit, in tomorrow’s votes I will do right by those who put their faith in me. Brexit: Leave-Backing Labour MPs Set To Defy Corbyn And Vote For Johnson's Bill | HuffPost UK huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-l…
565 people are talking about this - Conservative party chairman James Cleverly says the party will reject any applications from members of far-right groups such as Britain First and the BNP.He says the "racist views" of those parties are "incompatible" with the values of the Tories.His comments come after there were reports that Britain First had claimed their leader, Paul Golding, had joined the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservative Association.
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I’m not going to comment on every claim or rumour about people from Britain First, or BNP etc trying to join the @Conservatives but I will make this clear:
The racist views of those parties are incompatible with the values of ours and their applications will be rejected.
2,745 people are talking about this - Earlier, we brought you news that former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith is to stay on as minister for the environment and international development despite losing his seat in the election.Downing Street announced that Mr Goldsmith, the former MP for Richmond Park, will be made a life peer.International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has welcomed the move, tweeting that it was "great news".He wrote: "Zac Goldsmith has been a superb minister, bringing huge experience to the department for international development in his role."However, Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney, who took the minister's Richmond Park seat, said the move made a mockery of Mr Johnson's claim to lead a "people's government".She said: "It is the first days of Parliament returning and already Boris Johnson is rewarding his cronies with peerages."
Earlier, Boris Johnson replied to the suggestion of building a physical bridge over the Irish Sea, by saying "watch this space".The prime minister reportedly touted the idea of a crossing between Britain and Northern Ireland last year.And in the Commons today, DUP MP Ian Paisley asked whether the PM would build the "Boris Bridge".Mr Johnson replied, saying "it is a very interesting idea"."And I advise him to watch this space, and indeed watch that space between those islands because what he has said - it has not fallen on deaf ears."The DUP's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson later said: "We'll be watching this space. We expect the space between Scotland and Northern Irrleand to be filled at some stage in the future with a physical link."It was not all that long ago the DUP said Mr Johnson's Brexit deal risked creating "a border in the Irish Sea".- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says Boris Johnson has broken his election promise to increase the National Living Wage.The government had promised to increase it to two-thirds of median income - projected to be nearly £10.50 an hour - within five years, and be paid to those aged 21 and over.However, in the Queen's Speech, the government said the rise would happen only “provided economic conditions allow”.
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This was a firm promise made by Boris Johnson.
He's broken it within days of the election.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/queens-s…
6,779 people are talking about this - Labour MP Conor McGinn has welcomed the inclusion in the Queen's Speech of proposals for a law which would deny parole to killers who refuse to disclose the location of bodies.The Prisoners (disclosure of information about victims) Bill, known as Helen's Law, recently ran out of time when the election was called.The bill is named after Helen McCourt, whose murderer Ian Simms has never revealed where her remains are. Simms, 63, was jailed for life in 1989 after killing Helen McCourt as she walked home from work in St Helens.Mr McGinn, the MP for St Helens North, says he is meeting the justice secretary on Friday to discuss how the bill can be implemented quickly.
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Some good news from the #QueensSpeech.
The #HelensLaw Bill has huge support across the House of Commons.
I’m meeting the Justice Secretary tomorrow to talk about how we can get it done quickly, for Marie McCourt and the many other victims & families.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
19 people are talking about this - Labour's Lucy Powell says her party needs to listen to voices like former MP Jo Platt, who lost her seat in Leigh at the election.The seat, won by the Conservatives' James Grundy, had been held by Labour for almost 100 years.Ms Platt, in an article for the Independent, writes: "People in Leigh needed a promise of hope, self-determination and self-confidence - not entitled leaders who thought they know best."
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Lots of articles floating around out there post-election, this stands out as one of the must-reads.
What a huge loss @JoPlattLeigh is but her voice will continue to heard loudly. twitter.com/JoPlattLeigh/s…
See Lucy Powell MP's other Tweets - Of the more than 30 bills announced in the Queen's Speech, seven were on Brexit.Tomorrow the first will be put to Parliament - the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which is the legislation that enables the UK to leave the EU.Lisa Nandy, one of the potential candidates to be the next Labour leader, has written a Twitter thread highlighting what she sees as the big changes to the bill, including "binning" workers' rights, and a December 2020 "cliff edge enshrined in law".
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1) Workers rights binned: the key protections in clause 34 now dropped entirely. No clarity on when or what rights workers will have in law by December next year.
1,032 people are talking about this
Labour MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle was reappointed to his role of Commons Speaker earlier.And the fight to become one of his deputies has already begun.Veteran Tory MP Sir David Amess has thrown his hat into the ring this evening.Meanwhile, Tory MPs Sir Roger Gale and Gary Streeter, along with Labour's Sir George Howarth will act as Sir Lindsay's deputies until elections for the post are held in the next two weeks, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.The announcement was followed by a heckle from the Labour backbench: "Boys' Club!"Dame Rosie Winterton and Dame Eleanor Laing held the posts before the general election.At least one man and at least one woman must be elected across the posts of speaker and deputy speakers.- Here's a little more on the story we mentioned earlier that Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith had said not all parties were in agreement on how to restore devolution.The British and Irish governments say progress has been made in talks to restore Stormont, but the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is holding up a deal.A DUP spokesman has criticised the comments by British and Irish governments, saying: “This is a crude attempt to bounce people... significant gaps remain. This is about the future of the country and needs to be a balanced deal.”Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister, said if there was a change of approach from the DUP this evening, a deal could still be reached before Christmas.Read our story here.
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If the two governments are waiting tonight on @duponline changing its mind over what’s on offer it’s my understanding they could be waiting a long time
112 people are talking about this - Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says how the government deals with rail problems will be the "first big test" of whether it will follow through on its promises to the north.In reply to a tweet about travel disruption in Manchester, the former Labour MP said the Tories had "ignored our calls to sort out the rail chaos" all year.
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This is first big test of whether Tory promises to the North actually mean anything. All year, they have ignored our calls to sort out the rail chaos. Surely they must now intervene? twitter.com/bbcradiomanc/s…
300 people are talking about this - Clive Lewis became an MP for Norwich South in 2015 - taking the previously Liberal Democrat-held seat from Simon Wright.An early supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, he became shadow energy minister in September 2015 - shortly after Mr Corbyn's surprise leadership win.In February 2017, he resigned from the frontbench in order to oppose the bill triggering the Brexit process saying "I cannot, in all good conscience, vote for something I believe will ultimately harm the city I have the honour to represent, love and call home."However he rejoined Labour's frontbench in January 2018 as shadow treasury minister.Later that same year he was criticised for appearing to simulate shooting himself during a debate in the House of Commons.He also had to apologise for using "offensive and unacceptable" language at the Labour Party conference.Before becoming an MP, he worked as a BBC journalist and also served in the territorial army.He is the second MP to officially announce his candidacy in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
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Government writes to Scottish and Welsh Governments to ask for legislative consent over a dozen areas where the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill changes devolved powers...
326 people are talking about this- Former Labour MP Mike Gapes, who quit the party in February, says he won't be standing as an MP again after losing his seat at the election.Mr Gapes, who stood for the Independent Group for Change, lost his Ilford South seat which he had held since 1992 to Labour's Sam Tarry.
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This afternoon I went into the House of Commons to hand in my members pass and office and locker keys. Whilst I was eating in Portcullis House I met several defeated Labour colleagues. I hope many of them stand again and will get back. I won’t. So it’s goodbye from me.
527 people are talking about this - We told you half an hour or so ago that Clive Lewis has been setting out his leadership pitch.Writing in the Guardian, he says he is standing "for the simple reason that if I don’t, certain necessary truths may go unspoken during the debates of the coming months"."The truth is that to change our country, we have to change ourselves," he says.The shadow treasury minister goes on to praise Jeremy Corbyn for his “enormous achievements in inspiring a new generation of members.”But he says the party was “never democratised on the scale” that members expected.He also distances himself from the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown years saying that the party often had “the legacy of the 2000s thrown back in our faces.”Of Labour's election defeat he says:"We never painted a rich and textured picture of life in the society that we proposed to build - instead we offered a shopping list of rather disconnected policies."
- It feels like a long time ago now, but if you missed the action earlier, here are some images of the pomp and ceremony at Westminster this morning.
The Leader of the House of Commons has announced the upcoming Commons business from the despatch box.
