Boris Johnson will put law and order at the heart of his pitch to voters today as the Queen’s Speech is unveiled.
The monarch has arrived at Parliament amid great pomp and ceremony to herald the government’s package – including tougher sentences for foreign criminals and child abusers, as well as a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
In a waypointer for the UK’s post-Brexit future, the speech will also confirm plans to introduce a Australian-style points-based immigration system.
And it is expected to focus on proposals to boost the NHS with more funding, as well as underlining the government’s environmental credentials.
However, critics have pointed out that none of the Bills being put forward are actually likely to become law, given the government is around 40 votes short of a majority and an election is looming.
Labour has accused the PM of making the monarch read out a Tory ‘party political broadcast’ and branded the whole event a ‘farce’.
The state opening is one of the great events of pomp and ceremony in the United Kingdom’s political calendar
Queen Elizabeth II rides with Britain’s Prince Charles in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach on the Mall in London this morning
Yeomen of the Guard pass through the Peer’s Lobby to attend the State Opening of Parliament today
Jacob Rees-Mogg (left) looked to be enjoying himself ahead of the ceremony. Speaker John Bercow (right) was in his ceremonial gown for the event today
The Imperial State Crown is carried on a cushion at the State Opening of Parliament in Westminster this morning
There has not been a state opening – one of the great ceremonies of the Westminster calendar – since June 2017.
Parliament has had the longest session in modern history as wrangling over Brexit continued to dominate proceedings.
Mr Johnson also had one attempt to prorogue the Houses struck down by the Supreme Court after they ruled he had given illegal advice to the Queen. However, the second bid proceeded without a problem.
The Queen did not wear her Imperial Crown today in a break with tradition on a day that presents a glorious display of British pomp and circumstance.
The 93-year-old monarch wore her full dress and regalia, including cloak – making it the first time she has worn the full outfit but not the crown. She instead wore the lighter George IV diadem, which dates back to 1821.
She was accompanied by Prince Charles, as the Duke of Edinburgh has retired from official duties.
Mr Johnson’s partner Carrie Symonds and father Stanley were on hand to watch the grand reopening of Parliament today.
On crime and punishment, the speech spells out that prison terms for those who sneak back into the UK in breach of deportation orders will be lengthened from weeks to years.
And the worst offenders would no longer be freed halfway through their sentences. Rapists and killers would instead serve at least two thirds of their time.
Another law would see murderers who refuse to reveal where they buried their victims spending longer behind bars.
The proposed legislation will extend to paedophiles who stay silent about their victims. This follows anger over the release of depraved nursery worker Vanessa George after just a decade inside.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Deterring foreign criminals from re-entering the country and putting those that do behind bars for longer will make our country safer.’
Around 400 criminals are estimated to breach deportation orders each year. Those who are caught face a maximum of six months in jail but typically serve just ten weeks.
Ministers have decided the tougher sentences should stretch to years, but have not yet agreed a tariff. They say the legislation will also disrupt the activities of networks that facilitate the illegal return of offenders.
In August it was revealed that an Albanian double murderer was twice allowed to sneak into Britain and live here for 13 years.
Gentian Doda, a member of a notorious crime syndicate, was granted a British passport under a false name while on the run for the killings, which included gunning down an innocent young father with a Kalashnikov. A separate measure in the Queen’s Speech aims to ensure paedophiles who fail to reveal the identity of their victims will stay in prison for longer.
The proposal to penalise criminals who stay silent comes under ‘Helen’s Law’ after Helen McCourt, a 22-year-old insurance clerk murdered in 1988 by pub landlord Ian Simms.
He has always refused to reveal the location of her body.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland wants to extend this legislation to cover sexual abusers after public outrage over the case of George, 49.
Mr Johnson’s partner Carrie Symonds (left) and father Stanley took their places in the Lords gallery to watch the event
The scene in the House of Lords ahead of the State Opening of Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster today
Baroness Mone was among the peers in the House to hear the monarch’s speech today amid high security (right)
The Band of the Coldstream Guards march past Buckingham Palace ahead of the State Opening of Parliament today
Military bands perform along The Mall ahead of the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster today
The Queen left Buckingham Palace this morning on the short drive to Parliament in her Diamond Jubilee State Coach, accompanied by the Prince of Wales.
Boris Johnson (pictured having his flu jab in No10 today) has put tough law and order measures are at the heart of a Queen’s Speech package that will also include plans to introduce a post-Brexit immigration system, bolster the NHS, and safeguard the environment
Despite refusing to say which toddlers she had molested in the nursery where she worked in Plymouth she was released after just ten years in jail.
Domestic violence will also be tackled under the legislative proposals.
More than 732,000 such offences were recorded by police in the year to March – a 22 per cent annual increase.
A Domestic Abuse Bill was brought to Parliament in July by Theresa May but it was automatically dropped when Parliament was suspended and ministers have now kept a promise to reintroduce it.
Despite the pomp and pageantry around the Queen’s Speech, it is likely to be voted down in the coming days as Boris Johnson is more than 40 votes short of a House of Commons majority.
Instead, the proposals will form the backbone of the Conservatives’ manifesto for an election expected in weeks.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: ‘It is hypocritical for the Tories to set out these plans when they were the ones who imposed cuts and let crime soar in the first place. Everything was cut, from schools, to the NHS, to the police, to mental health services. They all had terrible consequences.
‘This Queen’s Speech is farcical. It is just an uncosted wish list which the Government has no intention and no means to deliver, and nothing more than a pre-election party political broadcast.
‘We always argued that cuts have consequences.’
Yeomen of the Guard were decked out ready for their big day at Westminster ahead of the Queen’s Speech today
Lady Usher of the Black Rod Sarah Clarke (right) prepares to take part in the State Opening of Parliament this morning
Boris Johnson to outline plan to end freedom of movement of EU citizens to the UK ‘once and for all’
One of the key planks of the Prime Minister’s first ever Queen’s Speech would see the UK’s immigration strategy dramatically overhauled.
Ending freedom of movement is at the heart of the Immigration and Social Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill which would see an Australian points-based style system implemented.
The new system is due to be in place from 2021 and is also expected to include measures to encourage migrants to live in areas outside of London when they come to the UK.
Ending freedom of movement is at the heart of the Immigration and Social Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill
It is hoped that this proposal would help to balance out the UK economy and to counter the so-called ‘brain drain’ of highly-skilled workers moving to the capital.
The proposals have long been trailed by the government and Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, confirmed the direction of travel in her Conservative Party conference speech earlier this month.
She told Tory activists at the time: ‘As Home Secretary at this defining moment in our country’s history, I have a particular responsibility when it comes to taking back control.
‘It is to end the free movement of people once and for all. Instead we will introduce an Australian style points-based immigration system. One that works in the best interests of Britain.’
Government plans to get tougher on throw-away plastics
Theresa May worked hard to try to re-position the Tories as the party of the environment and Mr Johnson is expected to continue that push in today’s Queen’s Speech.
The government is expected to bring forward an Environment Bill which will introduce a legally-binding target designed to reduce plastic waste.
It is also due to contain measures to clean up Britain’s air, cut pollution and restore the nation’s biodiversity.
Crackdown on crime the centrepiece of Boris Johnson’s Queen’s Speech
The PM’s first Queen’s Speech is heavy on proposals designed to toughen up the criminal justice system.
The government is planning to change sentencing rules so that criminals convicted of serious offences are forced to serve longer prison sentences.
At the moment many of the worst criminals are eligible to be released after serving half of their sentence.
It is thought ministers want to extend the amount of time people found guilty of the most serious violent and sexual offences will have to serve before they are able to be let out.
There is also expected to be a crackdown on foreign offenders who breach deportation orders.
Meanwhile, parole rules are likely to be tightened to take into account whether a murderer has previously withheld information about their victims.
Major overhaul of railway franchise system to improve train reliability and performance
The Department for Transport launched the Williams Review back in September 2018 to examine the current make up of the UK’s railway system.
The Queen’s Speech is expected to commit the government to bringing forward a white paper based on the findings of that review.
It is thought that it will pledge to scrap the current franchising model in favour of a system which is underpinned by more of a focus on performance and reliability.
The government hopes that building in performance-related incentives and penalties into the system will help improve the UK’s creaking railway network.
Government to propose new building regulator in bid to prevent repeat of Grenfell Tower fire
The government is expected to propose the introduction of tougher building safety standards in the Queen’s Speech.
There is also set to be a new regulator to enforce them in order to prevent a repeat of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire.
The new regulator is likely to have powers to impose criminal sanctions on companies found to be in breach of building regulations.
A new building safety regulator will be created to help prevent a repeat of the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower (pictured)
Boris Johnson to promise to improve patient safety in the NHS
The Queen’s Speech is expected to include an NHS Health Investigations Bill which will create a new independent body with legal powers to ensure patient safety.
The independent health service safety investigations body would have scope to act not just in the NHS but also in social care providers.
The PM is also due to continue his predecessor’s drive to improve mental health care with successive government’s having been accused of not acting fast enough to tackle the issue.
The mental health reform is likely to pledge to reduce detentions under the Mental Health Act by making sure that people get the treatment they need.
Tories to pledge to make UK voting system watertight
The government is bringing forward an Electoral integrity Bill which will introduce a legal requirement for voters to show photographic identification before they are allowed to vote in an election.
It is also expected to contain a crackdown on the proxy voting by reducing the number of relatives who are allowed to vote on somebody’s behalf.
The pledge is likely to prove controversial with the Labour Party ardently against the introduction of voter ID because it believes it will disenfranchise large groups of people.
Cat Smith, Labour’s shadow minister for voter engagement, said that if the Queen’s Speech does propose such a way forward, as it is expected to, it would amount to a ‘blatant attempt by the Tories to rig the result of the next general election’.