The Queen chose to have a more paired down event today without the gold carriage etc.
It was lovely to be around all of the House of Commons staff getting ready for the day. They work so hard to uphold the hundreds of age old traditions that keep the mother of all parliaments moving smoothly every day but particularly on such special days.
A police officer told me about a role he undertook for a Queen’s speech years ago calling out when the Monarch arrived. They all play their parts in making history.
The speech is political as it requires the Queen to tell us what her government is planning over the next five years in this parliamentary session. I have set out some points but these are not exhaustive.
I want to flag that I am pleased to see the new Domestic Abuse legislation included, as well as the Bill that will see an end to blame focused divorce. I have included a note on environmental matters below too.
The Government’s first priority is to deliver Brexit on 31 January and to negotiate an ambitious free trade agreement with the EU that benefits the whole country.
This Queen’s Speech sets out how we will seize the opportunities created by Brexit:
• The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will ratify the deal secured by the Government in October, delivering Brexit.
• The Agriculture Bill will reform UK agriculture by improving environmental protections and strengthening transparency and fairness in the supply chain.
• The Fisheries Bill will enable us to reclaim control over our waters, ensuring the sustainability of our marine life and environment.
• The Trade Bill will establish the Trade Remedies Authority to protect UK industry from unfair trading practices.
• We will end free movement and pave the way for a modern, fairer points-based immigration system.
• A Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill will provide a clear framework for cross-border resolutions for individuals, families and UK businesses involved in international legal disputes.
• We will provide certainty, stability and new opportunities for the financial services sector.
Please note some points on the environment below and I have joined the influential Conservative Environmental Network caucus this week to keep focus on environmental matters with a huge number of Conservative MP colleagues. The commitment is to safeguarding the natural environment for future generations:
• Our landmark Environment Bill will protect and preserve the planet for generations to come. It will establish a new Office for Environmental Protection, increase local powers to tackle air pollution, introduce charges for specified single use plastic items, and ban exports of polluting plastic waste to non-OECD countries.
• We will also continue to take steps to meet the world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
• We will introduce legislation to promote and protect animal welfare, including measures to increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty, to ensure animals are recognised as sentient beings, and ban the import and export of trophies from endangered animals.
The Queen’s speech is here and more detail will be released in due course: https://www.gov.uk/gov…/speeches/queens-speech-december-2019
