Fans of the political drama The West Wing may have spotted a familiar face in Westminster today...

Actor Bradley Whitford played the White House's deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman in the American TV series.

Labour MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis has announced he is standing for the Labour leadership, external in a Guardian article.

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

This government wants to try to give the appearance that they are completely new, completely different, even though the Conservatives have been in power for nearly a full decade.

That is quite a political stunt to try to pull off.

But it’s clear also that Boris Johnson came to the Commons today to present a vision that he hopes can straddle left and right, or what has traditionally been seen as Labour’s place in politics and the Conservatives’ place in politics.

That is what the results of the general election gave him as an opportunity.

And the challenge for Boris Johnson is not just to hold onto that for five years, but show to people who voted Tory for the first time that the party was worth the risk – that their vote was the right decision.

The test will be enormous - whether or not all that rhetoric actually matches up to the reality of the actions and decisions that this government will make.

Boris Johnson has had a reputation for years of being hungry with ambition to get to this place.

We’re going to find out in the next months and years whether he’s hungry to take the decisions that actually will cement his place in history.

Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith says he is "deeply disappointed" that the Stormont parties are not yet in agreement on how to restore devolution.

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government since January 2017.

Mr Smith was speaking after a meeting involving the five party leaders and the Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

He said the two governments had wanted to table a text of agreement tonight, but that "not all parties are on board".

Read our full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Labour MP Anna Turley, who sued a union for libel, has won her court battle and been awarded £75,000 damages.

Ms Turley - who lost her seat in Redcar in the general election - had sued Unite and blogger Stephen Walker.

She said a 2017 article on Mr Walker's Skwawkbox blog, which contained a press statement from Unite, gave the impression she was dishonest in her application to join the union.

Ms Turley also claimed Unite misused her private information.

The article said Ms Turley had wanted to vote against Unite general secretary Len McCluskey and undermine Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn without the union knowing she was an MP.

Unite bosses and Mr Walker fought the case and said Ms Turley was not fit to be an MP. Read the full story here.

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Helen Buckingham, the director of strategy at the Nuffield Trust think tank, says the extra £34bn a year pledged by the Tories - or £20bn in real terms - "is significant when we look at it in the context of the last few years of spending in the NHS".

But it will just get it back to the standard of what it was, she says.

"The NHS has had real terms increase in spending in recent years but they've been a lot lower than we've been expecting," she says.

She says the new programme "does mark a break with that austerity" but "we're seeing the NHS struggling at the moment to be honest".

"What we expect this money to do is to help get the NHS back to where it was," she adds. "To be able to meet the standards that are set out in the constitution that the public have a right to expect.

"The £20bn in real terms equates to about 3 or 4% a year increase. And what's key is how that's spent.

"So it's about spending money on, as the prime minister set out, improving the staffing in the NHS, filling the vacancies that we've got.

"That would give the NHS a good chance of being able to hit the waiting list targets and emergency care targets that it's got.

But she adds: "What we haven't seen today is the resource that's been committed to improve the infrastructure of the NHS, the buildings and the equipment.

"The prime minister has made some very public commitments about new hospitals. What we haven't yet seen is where the money for those new hospitals is going to come from and that is a bit of a worry for us."

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SNP MP Pete Wishart is asked about his party's case for a Scottish independence referendum.

BBC host Huw Edwards asks him: "This is a prime minister of a majority of 80 in the Commons, his view is clear. You can ask for a referendum until you're blue in the face and but it's not going to happen."

"We think it is," replies the SNP's Mr Wishart. "Number of reasons why that will happen. I think that Scotland's democratic voice has to be heard.

"It's unsustainable for the Conservatives to continue to say 'no' to the Scottish people."

Mr Wishart says the Scottish Conservatives fought the election in Scotland with a "different and distinct campaign north of the border than it was down here".

"Every piece of their literature was 'no to a second independence, send Nicola Sturgeon a message'.

"Well a message was sent to Nicola Sturgeon and that message was we want to determine and decide our own future.

"It's simply unsustainable and untenable for the Conservatives to continue to say no. At some point they will have to recognise we live in a mature democracy."

The SNP won big on election night in Scotland, securing 45% of the vote.

House of Commons
Parliament

The DUP's Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, congratulates the government on its win.

He says: "It is significant that right across the United Kingdom people who would normally have voted for other parties decided they weren't taken in by the leader of the opposition, wrapping himself in his big red coat and offering lots of presents for Christmas that we would be paying for for many Christmases to come."

However, he also had split views about the government's direction.

The pro-Brexit party from Northern Ireland has already stated it doesn't agree with Boris Johnson's deal with the EU as they say it puts a border down the Irish Sea.

"It is important that we do have a government who has promised to deliver sensible arrangements for services, sensible economic growth, while at the same time realising one of the things the people in this country wanted, recognising the result of the referendum.

"I don't believe the approach the government is taking fully fulfils that commitment and there are things we, as a party, want to see changed."

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Andrew Bowie, MP and vice chair of the Conservative Party, says: "We've finally shaken off the shackles of the last Parliament".

"Today we saw, with a large Conservative majority, just exactly what we can do," he says, adding it's a very exciting day for many people.

"The pressure is on but we're determined to deliver," he says, saying that the government is "very clear" that many voters have lent their vote.

Challenged on whether it's realistic to get a trade deal with the EU by December 2020, Mr Bowie says it is "absolutely realistic".

He says "so much of the groundwork has already been done" and has "absolute confidence" that it will be done - although it will be demanding.

Vicki Young
Chief Political Correspondent

Tomorrow the Withdrawal Agreement Bill will come back to the House of Commons for a second reading.

It's been published and it really does tell the tale of how much less input Parliament's going to have in all of this process.

There was room for Parliament to have a say on whether the transition period - the implementation period which runs to the end of next year - could be extended.

That power has been taken away. A sign that this Parliament is not going to be like the last one.

The government has re-published a new version of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill, external, which it expects to be given first-stage approval tomorrow.

With a large majority, the government has changed some provisions it had made under the strains of minority government in the last Parliament.

Clauses removed

• Workers' rights: The previous bill had pledged to secure and strengthen workers' rights. This clause has been removed from the bill. The government says it will instead address workers' rights in a separate piece of legislation.
• Oversight of negotiations on the future relationship with the EU: The previous draft made it necessary for Parliament to approve the negotiating mandate of the government. It also made it necessary for the mandate to be in line with the negotiated political declaration on a future relationship, as well as compelling ministers to report to Parliament on the progress of negotiations. This is all now gone. The government would be at liberty to negotiate something not in line with the political declaration and to make those changes at very short notice.

Clauses added

• No use of written procedure in the Joint Committee: This stops UK officials agreeing to use the written procedure in the joint committee governing the Withdrawal Agreement. This means the committee will have to meet to make decisions. This is a procedural change.

Clauses changed

• Watering down the Dubs' amendment on refugees: The amendment related to the reunion of child refugees with their family in the UK after Brexit. As an EU member, the UK is obliged to reunite refugee children with family members. This obligation falls away when the UK leaves the EU, so the amendment was designed to replace it by placing a duty on the government to negotiate an agreement with the EU allowing family reunion to continue in future. The new draft sees this duty replaced with a requirement for a minister to make a statement on the issue and the government’s policy.
• Prohibition on extending implementation period: This bars ministers from agreeing an extension to the transition period. In the previous draft, they simply had to seek parliamentary approval to do so.

BBC News Channel

Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, says it was "interesting" that in the Queen's Speech the government said the UK would be "world leaders" in climate action - but is continuing to keep its current net-zero target of 2050.

"You look around the world and that isn't leadership," she says. "We see other countries looking at 2045, 2030."

Ms Womack adds; "The fact that Boris Johnson has said 'let's get Brexit done' when the reality is he can only get Brexit started is very stark."

She adds that MPs will have a "real battle on our hands to make sure that we're holding the government to account".

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Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards says the mood in Parliament is different to what it was before the election when "every vote was on a knife edge".

He says that history will judge that the decision to go for an election at that time was a "huge strategic error".

Before, the opposition could have forced Boris Johnson into another Brexit referendum, he says.

"Instead we gave him an escape route via an election and really now he does hold all the cards in there," he says.

"We know sitting on those opposition benches, we're not going to hold a vote for five years. Whereas, of course, before the election it was very difficult for the government to win anything."

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

The Independent Group for Change has decided to shut down after losing all its MPs in Parliament.

It started its life when seven Labour MPs quit their party over its stance on Brexit and handling of anti-Semitism allegations.

The new party grew in size when three Tory MPs jumped ship too, but failed to get much traction in the European elections with their anti-Brexit stance.

But after a number of defections - and name changes - the last five standing all lost their seats at the election, including its leader Anna Soubry.

In a tweet, the party - affectionately known as TIG-ers - said: "We came together and took a stand when others wouldn’t.

"It was right to shine a spotlight on Britain’s broken politics.

"But having taken stock and with no voice now in Parliament, we begin the process of winding up our party.

"Thanks to all who stood with us."

House of Commons
Parliament

After revealing he has taken part in stage productions with the St Paul's Players in Chessington, the acting co-leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, turns to a more serious note.

He tells the Commons: "I believe our United Kingdom is one of the greatest examples of international cooperation in history."

He says four nations "can be as one while being themselves", with each being "democratic, open, and internationalist".

Sir Ed adds: "We have been a beacon of political stability in the world [and] I think we remain fundamentally outward looking... and capable of progressive reform."

But he does not think Boris Johnson reflected that in his speech.

"We needed a Queen's Speech that would truly keep our country together, heal the divides and tackle challenges," he says.

"But I fear this Queen's Speech will only undermine our country's great traditions.

"I fear we will become more inward looking... and less compassionate."

BBC News Channel

The leader of the TUC, Frances O'Grady, says there is "a real likelihood" that the government's promises on workers’ rights are going to “fall flat”.

She says: “They’re weak, they’re reheated, they’re vague", adding that Boris Johnson has already broken one of them by saying that any rise to the national minimum wage is conditional on the economy prospering.

She says that what the prime minister should be doing is introducing “a bold new agenda to give all working people decent rights from day one so we can have dignified jobs".

The government should have got rid of some of the zero-hours contracts which are “holding us all back”, she adds.

She says it is important that Labour focuses on the "day job" of holding the government to account while it has the leadership contest.

"Within their own ranks, the Conservatives must realise they will not hold on to those votes they say have been loaned to them unless they start delivering the decent working lives people deserve."

The two images below show what the Commons looked like at the beginning of the debate, compared with how it looks now.

While it was full to the brim at 14:30, the wide-shot cameras show MPs have been steadily trickling out of the House.

Image source, PA Media

Conservative former MP Zac Goldsmith is to stay on as environment minister and will be made a life peer, Downing Street has announced.

Mr Goldsmith, the former MP for Richmond Park, was unseated at the election by the Lib Dems.

Vicki Young
Chief Political Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

There were some rather difficult scenes here earlier, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn walking up to the House of Lords together and no chat between them at all.

I've stood here for very many of those state openings of Parliament and normally the two leaders at least manage to have a little bit of a discussion. There was none of that today.

Interestingly, Boris Johnson saying, actually, we've always got on and relations between them have been cordial.

And Boris Johnson saying about Jeremy Corbyn, his beliefs are deeply held, his sincerity is to be commended - but then he did lay in to the rest of the shadow cabinet.

Of course it is very difficult for the shadow cabinet and Labour MPs having to sit there and having to listen to being mocked really in some of those earlier speeches.

And of course watching there, the Conservatives, knowing they have this majority now to deliver up to a point what they want, including of course the main thing in the Queen's Speech - that Withdrawal Agreement Bill which will come before this House tomorrow.

House of Commons
Parliament

Theresa May also opts to weigh in on the issue of another referendum on Scottish independence.

She says Mr Johnson wants to "unite the country" but that won't happen if the UK is "torn asunder" by such a vote.

The former prime minister says splitting up the UK would "ignore the ties of family, history and shared endeavour over the years".

"I think that breaking up the United Kingdom is to the benefit of no-one and to the detriment of all," Mrs May says.

She refutes a response from an SNP MP, who notes that 45% of Scottish people voted for the SNP - pointing out that 55% of Scots therefore voted for parties that support the unity of the UK.

She adds: "An independent Scotland will not be in the European Union - so what the Scottish nationalists are saying to people in Scotland is simply not true."