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

  1. Final headlinespublished at 21:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    What happened today?

    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.

    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.

  2. Three days for Brexit billpublished at 21:13 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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.

  3. Jacob Rees-Mogg makes business statementpublished at 20:56 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  4. Momentum coordinator Laura Parker to stand downpublished at 20:52 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Laura ParkerImage source, Getty Images

    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.

  5. Labour MP to vote for Johnson's Brexit billpublished at 20:50 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  6. Cleverly: Applications from far-right will be rejectedpublished at 20:46 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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, external that Britain First had claimed their leader, Paul Golding, had joined the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservative Association.

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  7. Alok Sharma welcomes Goldsmith appointmentpublished at 20:38 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Zac GoldsmithImage source, PA Media

    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, external 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."

  8. A bridge over the Irish Sea?published at 20:32 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Ian PaisleyImage source, PA images
    Image caption,

    Ian Paisley

    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".

  9. Corbyn: Johnson 'breaks promise' on minimum wage risepublished at 20:28 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  10. Labour MP welcomes 'Helen's Law' billpublished at 20:16 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  11. Powell: Labour needs to listen to former MPspublished at 20:04 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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,, external 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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  12. Nandy: PM's Brexit plan changed 'for the worse'published at 19:49 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  13. Who is running for deputy speaker?published at 19:39 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Sir David AmessImage source, UK Parliament
    Image caption,

    Sir David Amess represents Southend West

    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.

  14. DUP critical of British and Irish governmentspublished at 19:33 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  15. Burnham: Government needs to sort out 'rail chaos'published at 19:21 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  16. Who is Clive Lewis?published at 19:17 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Clive LewisImage source, UK Parliament

    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.

  17. Government asks Scotland and Wales for legal consentpublished at 19:10 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    BBC economics editor tweets...

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  18. Ex-Labour MP bids farewell to Parliamentpublished at 19:05 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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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  19. Clive Lewis: Labour needs to change itselfpublished at 19:04 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    Clive LewisImage source, PA Media

    We told you half an hour or so ago that Clive Lewis has been setting out his leadership pitch.

    Writing in the Guardian, external, 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."

  20. The State Opening of Parliament - in picturespublished at 18:59 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December 2019

    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.

    House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor
    Image caption,

    Black Rod arrives in the Commons summoning MPs to hear the Queen's Speech

    Jeremy Corbyn and Boris JohnsonImage source, UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor
    Image caption,

    Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister Boris Johnson make their way to the House of Lords

    Cressida DickImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Metropolitan police commissioner Cressida Dick was also in Westminster

    Queen ElizabethImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Queen Elizabeth reads out her speech accompanied by her son Prince Charles

    Theresa MayImage source, UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor
    Image caption,

    Back in the Commons, former PM Theresa May looks on as her successor addresses MPs