House of Commons
Parliament

Eddie Hughes follows on from former minister Tracey Crouch's humble offering to the Queen.

The relative newcomer Mr Hughes, MP for Walsall North, starts things off by expressing his shock at how full the Commons is - he says he's used to addressing a near-empty room.

He also makes a cheeky request for favouritism - to much laughter - from the new Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

"If you like what you hear, Mr Speaker, over the next few minutes I like to think you will call me early in debates, unlike your much-loved predecessor [ex-Speaker John Bercow]."

He also makes plenty of early digs at the Labour Party, reminiscing greatly on the moment of joy he felt when the Conservatives took Blyth Valley from Labour on election night.

The camera shows a decidedly glum opposition bench of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott.

He talks about a "blue-collar revolution" and says ordinary working people want a government that will "stay out of their way" but ensure their safety.

He says PM Boris Johnson is the only one who can deliver on that.

House of Commons
Parliament

There are nods to more serious issues too, be it HS2, the high-speed railway, mental health or trade with the EU.

But Tracey Crouch still manages a jokey dig at the frontbench, mocking Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for realising the importance of the port of Dover.

You'll remember he came under fire last year, when he was Brexit secretary, for saying he "hadn't quite understood" how reliant UK trade in goods is on the Dover-Calais crossing.

Ms Crouch says that after Brexit, the UK "stands ready to build a new relationship with friends in the EU and elsewhere based on free trade and cooperation".

But she says her constituents "warmly welcome" other plans from the Conservative government, including more funding for the NHS, more police officers and tougher sentencing rules.

Returning to her earlier Dickens' metaphor, she says how he passionately wrote about poverty, and they must learn such lessons, adding: "Mercy and altruism must remain our mission in today's Conservative Party."

Ms Crouch says the Commons is "at its best when we work together" and calls for parties to "let friendships thrive through diversity and respect our differences" - although she is keener on Tottenham finishing above Arsenal in the league.

After wishing everyone a merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, she concludes: "In the words of Tiny Tim, God bless us, everyone."

Dominic Casciani
Home Affairs Correspondent

It won’t get much of a fanfare but the Queen’s Speech is also promising far-reaching measures to help the UK’s intelligence agencies confront modern espionage - and even potentially redefine the ancient law of treason.

A foreign agent doesn’t commit a crime if they try to influence events in Parliament. And it can be very difficult to take action against someone who passes information to a foreign power if it wasn't an official secret. And as for foreign troll farms funded by a hostile state to change public opinion, they’re totally beyond the law.

Part of the challenge is coming up with a modern definition of the crime of spying. The current offence in the 1911 Official Secrets Act aimed to catch spies physically lurking about in the UK - such as German agents snooping around naval dockyards. Rather obviously, it's of no use in catching online spies who mount cyber smash-and-grabs from thousands of miles away.

BBC News Channel

Rachel Wolf, who works for a business management consultancy and helped to write the Conservative manifesto, says a majority government is very exciting, after "several years of total paralysis".

She says as well as the new money for the health service, the Queen's Speech shows that government is "dealing with some of the areas of the NHS", for example more GP appointments.

"I think what the public are going to test though, not these announcements but whether they make a tangible difference on the ground," she says.

"The question is in five years, can people get a GP appointment more easily than they can today?"

She says when the Conservative manifesto was being written, there was "certainly a huge focus on those voters" who had never voted Conservative in their lives because "it was very clear they felt they'd been betrayed by our inability to leave the EU".

House of Commons
Parliament

The former sports minister, Tracey Crouch, is first up with the loyal address.

She says being given the honour was usually "a gift from the whips for those who have had their best time".

She adds: "He has clearly clocked it's panto season... it is the equivalent of shouting your career is behind you!"

Some MPs erupt into shouts of "oh no it isn't", but Boris Johnson doesn't say anything.

"I'd be more reassured if the prime minister joined in," says Ms Crouch.

Going through her speech again, she gets a raucous response - including from the PM.

It is also the anniversary of the publication of A Christmas Carol.

Cue jokes about Mr Johnson being "oven ready to be the ghost of Christmas present", and Mr Corbyn being a grumpy Marley.

One of the potential candidates to be the next Labour leader, Lisa Nandy, says the government's agenda set out in the Queen's Speech is a "complete failure to rise to the challenges facing our country".

Ms Nandy says the government has failed to address climate change and social care.

MPs are back in the Commons for the first debate of the Parliament - on the Queen's Speech they've just heard.

It takes the form of a so-called Humble Address, in which the House's debate is framed as a thank you to the Queen.

According to the parliamentary website, external, "the task of moving the motion is regarded as an honour and is given to two government backbenchers.

"They are normally a contrasting pair with very different constituencies, one a relative newcomer and the other a long-serving Member. By convention, their speeches are not contentious and contain both humour and flattering references to their constituencies."

This year, the task goes to Conservative MPs Tracey Crouch, a former minister, and relative newcomer Eddie Hughes.

We'll then hear from Jeremy Corbyn, before Boris Johnson is on his feet to commend his government's agenda to the House.

Newly-elected Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle kicks things off with a tribute to Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, who were killed in the London Bridge attack during the general election.

He then reminds all MPs, new and old, to adhere to the behavioural code of conduct and show "civility and fairness" in all their dealings.

There was much talk during the election campaign of working to improve the tone of debates in the Commons after several highly-charged Brexit-related debates before the election was called.

House of Commons
Parliament

Before the Queen's Speech, Jacob Rees Mogg has put forward a motion so the Commons can sit on Friday.

This is so MPs can get on with debating Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

The Commons has nodded it through, with the new speaker saying he negotiated to ensure people didn't have to return on Monday.

We all want to get on with Christmas, right?

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on the UK government to negotiate a transfer of powers to Holyrood to allow another referendum on independence.

In addition to the speech she gave on the subject earlier, she's written to Boris Johnson and enclosed a document to argue the case for a second vote.

Earlier, the government announced that the Department for Exiting the EU (DexEU) would close on the day the UK leaves the EU - 31 January 2020.

DexEU has been responsible for negotiating the government's Brexit deal.

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker has called for those working in the department to be "dispersed into the cabinet office and across government" so that they can continue to contribute to the government's Brexit strategy.

Image source, EPA

So, the new intake of MPs are continuing to be sworn in as we speak. But what else is set to happen today in the Commons?

From around 14:40 GMT, a debate will take place on the Queen's Speech.

Two MPs from the government benches give a "loyal address" to open up proceedings.

This time it will be former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Walsall North MP Eddie Hughes.

These are normally fairly lighthearted speeches, so expect a few jokes and sniggers as the afternoon kicks off.

The debate then begins in earnest. We expect Jeremy Corbyn will be speaking just after 15:00 and the prime minister will get on his feet about 15:15.

The back and forth will be allowed to go on as late as 22:00 tonight, so don't expect an early finish. And it doesn't end there - the debate will continue in the new year, as Queen's Speeches often last five or six days.

But, before things close tonight, there will also be a business statement from the Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg outlining the upcoming plans in the Commons.

A packed day ahead!

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Labour's John Healey is asked about the future of his party but he says he is yet to decide who he wants to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the Labour leader.

“I’ve not said I will support anyone,” says the shadow housing secretary, when asked if he is backing Wigan MP Lisa Nandy - who hasn't officially declared she is running.

“I want to hear from everyone who wants to be leader – the vision they’ve got for the country and the part the Labour party can play.

“I’m much more interested in what people have to say, than who they are.”

He says Labour fell “so far short” in its aim of forming the next government and the task for the party now is “how we start to rebuild and how we start to offer a vision again”.

"If we get our act together as the official opposition, there are good grounds for believing that we can build back, as we must."

David Shukman
Science editor, BBC News

Image source, GETTY IMAGES

The government has outlined a busy environmental agenda with a long list of green pledges. Checking them against what was included in the Conservative Party manifesto, there are no big surprises.

The headline commitment to reduce the UK's carbon emissions to "net zero" by 2050 is there, as are the key elements of an environment bill and new measures on animal welfare.

Left unspecified, so far, are the details of many of the initiatives.

The exact powers of a new Office of Environmental Protection have yet to be spelled out. And a plan to increase the power of local authorities to tackle air pollution makes no mention of whether there's new money to go with it (which is what many councils have been clamouring for).

Campaign promises of new cash for flood defences, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency in homes, schools and hospitals are repeated - a key test will be how they are delivered.

Opposition parties are already saying the government is failing to take the radical action needed. And there's a moment of intense scrutiny of the government on the horizon.

The Queen's Speech referred to "COP26" - the massive UN climate summit planned for Glasgow next November when the eyes of the world will judge the sincerity of the host country's green ambitions.

A councillor is facing calls to resign after being convicted of sexual assault.

Former deputy provost Alan Donnelly resigned from the Scottish Conservatives after being found guilty of the offence last week.

Donnelly remains a councillor for Aberdeen City Council, despite being removed from all council committees.

One of his victim's supervisors said he had been "trembling and shaking" when he told her about being kissed and touched by Donnelly.

Read more here.

A local government think thank says the Queen's Speech is reminiscent of "Groundhog Day" in its repetition of old pledges.

Although the Speech was "ambitious", the chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) says "we’ve heard it all before" when it comes to the promise to develop a sustainable social care system.

Jonathan Carr-West adds that local government is "as far as ever" from being funded in a sustainable way.

The LGiU says it welcomes the government's commitment to further devolution of powers, but adds a warning not to repeat the past.

"It’s essential that we give local communities more control over the places they live, but we must learn the lessons from the devolution process of 2015 and ensure that we do not focus on process and growth at the expense of democracy and public service reform," Mr Carr-West says.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Shadow housing minister John Healey says it will be "a tough task" for Labour to hold the government to account after such a "dreadful defeat" in the election.

However, he says it's Labour's "duty" as the opposition to make sure it challenges the Conservatives over the Queen's Speech "which is a very thin programme" for a new government.

"The main parts of this are dealing with the very problems that over the last 10 years Tory ministers have created themselves," he says.

Asked about Jeremy Corbyn's decision to wait to stand until after a new leader is selected, he says he "has done the right thing".

"He's doing the tough thing of staying in place, providing a degree of stability during this period where Labour can work out a way forward and make decisions about our leadership for the future."

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Earlier, Nicola Sturgeon said there was an "unarguable" mandate for a new referendum on independence after her Scottish National Party won 48 of Scotland's 59 seats in last week's general election.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says she is "wrong", adding that "of course it's not unarguable" because Scotland voted against independence in 2014.

He says: "I believe in respecting democracy. I respect the referendum result in Scotland in the same way that we should respect the Brexit referendum result.

"She got a flat 'no' from the people of Scotland in a once-in-a-generation vote."

Image source, PA Media

Former MP Natalie McGarry has had her conviction for embezzlement quashed after judges ruled she had suffered a miscarriage of justice.

In June, the former SNP Glasgow East MP was jailed for 18 months for embezzling £25,000 from pro-independence groups but was freed on bail after lodging an appeal.

Ms McGarry, who now faces a retrial, burst into tears at the appeal court in Edinburgh after the ruling was announced.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

The Queen's Speech included a promise to spend an extra £1bn a year on social care while attempts are made to tackle the issue long-term.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the commitment shows that social care is right at “the top of the agenda”.

Asked when a new long-term financial settlement will be in place, he says he “certainly hopes” that it will be implemented during "this Parliament".

“I hope sooner but let’s start the talks straight away after Christmas.”

He adds: “The question of how to make it happen is a question of bringing people together politically to build a consensus, rather than doing the analysis.

"It would be very easy for me to sit here and give you a precise timetable but I don't want to because I want the talks to have as much breadth of discussion as possible."