Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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A bit more from Emily Thornberry's interview on the Today programme, now.

She says Jeremy Corbyn has been "badly let down" and "badly advised".

“There have been times when we have made decisions and that hasn’t been what has been briefed out to the media. That has undermined him and drained away, I think, too often his authenticity, which was something which was so important and resonated so much with people in 2017," she says.

Mistakes – which she says include the party's Brexit policy and its failure to deal with allegations of anti-Semitism – between 2017 and 2019 meant he was “fundamentally” undermined as leader, she adds.

Yesterday, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry became the first person to officially throw their hat into Labour's leadership race.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast this morning, Ms Thornberry said the party needs a leader who will make "strong" and "timely" decisions.

She gave the example of the opposition party in the US, which she said had a "clear strategy" to take on US President Donald Trump.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

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Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry says "clear strategic thinking" is needed within the Labour Party.

The first person to commit to standing in the Labour leadership contest tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need to be able to work out what we're doing, and where we're going, and rather than just be reactive all the time.

"I think that it's very important, particularly now that we're going to be in opposition, that we have an idea as to how we will take Boris Johnson on, how we will hold him to account, and not, as I say, just allow ourselves to be kind of knocked around like a ball in a pinball machine."

She says she has proved she has the ability to make strategic decisions.

The newly-elected Commons MPs have spent the last couple of days being officially sworn in.

Among them was Labour's Ellie Reeves, who carried her newborn baby. She wasn't the only one with Stella Creasy, who gave birth during the election campaign, also taking her baby girl, external into Parliament.

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We've heard the NHS will be at the heart of the Queen's Speech later but reaction overnight from Labour describes the government's pledge to increase health funding as a "gimmick".

The party's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says 10 years of under-funding has led to the situation in the NHS.

He says: “We will study the legislation they are putting forward but the commitments from their election manifesto fall far short of what is needed to end record waiting times and staff shortages.

“If the Conservatives’ plans to put funding increases into law is to be anything other than an empty gimmick, we would urge them to pledge the extra £6bn a year which experts say is needed to start to make up the cuts they've imposed for a decade, and to put the necessary funding into public health and social care.

“This government will be judged on its handling of the NHS and its ability to put right their disastrous handling of our country's most important institution over the past decade.”

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The Daily Mail's Robert Hardman, a royal expert, explains why today's state opening of Parliament will be a "dressed down" ceremony for the Queen.

For example, the monarch will wear a day dress and she will arrive in a car instead of by carriage .

Hardman says this is because it would have been "a little over the top" to repeat the pomp and ceremony of the state opening that happened shortly before the general election.

He says it's because "this is an administrative opening" without "all the trimmings" - which reduces the inconvience to officials such as members of the Household Cavalry.

"It's a sort of common-sense, practical way of getting Parliament back on the right foot."

It's a bit of an echo of 1974, when there were two elections and two state openings. One was the "full fig", Hardman says, and one was "administrative" like the one we'll see today.

BBC Radio 5 Live

More from Rishi Sunak, the Treasury chief secretary, who is appearing on the breakfast programmes for the government today.

He tells BBC Radio 5 Live that the new administration "very much wants to be a people's government" and that plans to boost NHS funding are at the heart of an agenda that goes beyond Brexit.

Challenged on whether the new funding settlement for the health service reflects the impact of inflation, Mr Sunak says the focus should not be just on the money - but also on ensuring that money is used effectively.

"There will be £34bn more cash going into the NHS," he says. "The broader point is we should be focused... on making sure that money gets to the front line so people see improvement in their care."

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

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The government's plan to enshrine extra NHS spending in law is the one big new addition to the Queen's Speech held a matter of weeks ago, before the general election.

It's a symboilc gesture. If you want to be harsh, you could describe it as a gimmick. Former PM Gordon Brown I think did a similar thing with enshrining in law a commitment to reduce the deficit, while former chancellor George Osborne did the same with a promise to run a budget surplus.

But the point of it is to reassure those voters who are not traditional Tory voters and who are still a little bit sceptical of Boris Johnson.

He wants to show he is serious about the NHS - that he's not going to flog it off to the Americans, he's not going to privatise it - that he is genuine when he talks about nurturing it and trying to address some of its difficulties.

The one black hole in this plan for action, it strikes me, is social care, where there will merely be a commitment to "work urgently" to come up with a plan, which of course comes a long way short of actually producing a plan.

If you're talking about helping the NHS, then really you do have to do something about social care. If you don't sort social care, you'll still get elderly people filling up hospital beds because they can't get care at home and can't get places in care homes.

BBC Breakfast

Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, says the government can "absolutely" pay for promises in the Conservative manifesto following last week's election.

He tells BBC Breakfast that additional money for the NHS will be at the heart of the Queen's Speech later - which he describes as a "record funding settlement".

Mr Sunak says there is a "three point plan" to solve the social care crisis - including an extra £1bn to stabilise the system, to find a cross-party solution, and preventing anyone from having to sell their home to fund care.

But he declines to say that the social care crisis will be solved within the first 100 days of the new government.

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

For the first time the government will enshrine in law a substantial increase in health spending in England - nearly £34bn more by the financial year 2023/4.

It's one of the legislative plans being outlined in the Queen's Speech later.

But while in cash terms, spending may reach a historic high, independent analysts say that, when adjusted to account for inflation, the previous Labour government put in more resources between 2005 and 2010.

And Labour is now calling for an extra £6bn a year to meet increased demands.

The Conservatives will also mount a new assault on Labour territory with an employment rights bill. And in another measure designed to solidify the support of recently converted Tory voters, they'll announce a tougher sentencing regime for serious offences.

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The NHS needs bold and ambitious measures in the Queen's Speech to tackle the big challenges over social care and funding, a senior health service boss has said.

But NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery also calls for realism after the "fantasy politics" of the election campaign.

Ms Cordery writes on the Independent website:, external "What has been striking - and welcome - has been the emphasis the prime minister continues to place on the NHS."

She adds that latest NHS performance figures "showed that performance in the hospital sector and across the urgent and emergency care pathway reached the lowest point in the 10 years since we have been monitoring the constitutional standards".

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, HM Parliament

Neil O'Brien, the Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston, has been credited with persuading the Tories to speak to Northern constituencies.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the party got a higher share of the vote where there are more working class voters - but now needs to deliver for them.

"It's a huge change and expectations are high," he says.

"But Boris Johnson has moved very quickly to say and do all the right things to really grasp that we must deliver for the places that have voted Conservative perhaps never having done so before."

Mr O'Brien says the government needs to have a mix of things that can be delivered quickly as well as plans for the longer term in today's Queen's Speech.

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More now on what the Queen Speech is and why it is important.

As the BBC's Tom Edgington explains, the ceremony provides the government with an opportunity to highlight its priorities for the months ahead.

But there are also plenty of quirky traditions - including the shutting of a Commons door in the face of a House of Lords official known as Black Rod.

Read more from Tom here.

Thursday's newspapers preview some of the measures set to be included in the Queen's Speech later.

The Daily Mail splashes what it describes as a "boost" for Britain's high streets. The paper says Boris Johnson will announce "immediate help" for town centres with a cut in business rates from April.

Read our review of Thursday's national papers here.

The State Opening of Parliament marks the formal start of the parliamentary year and the Queen's Speech sets out the government’s agenda for the coming session.

Approximate timings (all GMT) have been released by Parliament but these are subject to change:

11:25 State Opening of Parliament

11:40 Queen's Speech in the House of Lords

14:00 Swearing in of MPs

14:30 Queen's Speech debate: A short debate on electoral practices

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More on what will be included in the Queen’s speech later.

We’re expecting a new Australian-style points-based immigration system to be outlined – with its introduction slated for 1 January 2021.

Post-Brexit regulator regimes are likely to be included covering key industries and sectors, such as farming, fishing, and financial services.

But there are also likely to be other measures – including action to tackle the unlawful use of drones, fairer sharing of tips among restaurant staff, and requirements for a minimum-level of service during train strikes.

Boris Johnson says he wants to “get Brexit done”, unite the UK and "level up" opportunity.

So we can expect the Queen to outline legislation that takes the UK out of the EU on 31 January.

Guarantees on health service funding and longer sentences for violent criminals will also be included.

And we may see more of what Downing Street has called “far-reaching” domestic reforms – likely around education and infrastructure.

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If you’re thinking this all seems familiar - it is because the last Queen’s Speech was just two months ago, on 14 October.

Back then, Her Majesty outlined the agenda of Boris Johnson’s first administration – but now she is back to confirm his agenda after he secured a decisive majority last week.

There will be differences though – we can expect far less pomp and pageantry this time around due to the timescales of the snap election.

For example, the Queen and the Prince of Wales will travel to Parliament from Buckingham Palace by car rather than by horse-drawn carriage.

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage today. We’re expecting plenty of developments as the monarch sets out the new Conservative government’s agenda for the year during a Queen’s Speech.