BORIS Johnson will today put the NHS at the heart of the Queen’s Speech – but Her Majesty won’t wear the traditional robes and crown.
40 new bills will be revealed later today as the Queen officially comes to re-open Parliament again, just two months after she last did so.
The package will be dominated by the Tories’ manifesto promises on the NHS, crime and education.
And the first of Boris’ bumper package of bills will the Withdrawal Agreement Bill which will come back tomorrow.
The first votes will take place so it can be passed by January 31 to finally get Britain out of the EU.
But there will also be targeted help for working Brits fighting to stay afloat.
Also new in todays Queens Speech, there will be:
- A promise to end witch hunt prosecutions of ageing Northern Ireland veterans.
- A crackdown to end terrorists early release from jail in response to the London Bridge attack.
- A new 50 per cent discount in crippling business rates for small retailers, such as shops, restaurants, hairdressers, and pubs.
The speech will also promise to enshrine in law a huge cash uplift for the NHS of 33.9billion per year by 2023/24, the largest financial injection in its history.
The NHS Funding Bill will be the first piece of domestic legislation that the new Government passes.
And unlike the last set of Bills, they are likely to all pass without major opposition now that the PM has such a big majority.
The 93 year-old monarch will open Parliament for the second time in as many months, after the last Queens Speech on October 14.
But the state occasion will be trimmed down, with the Queen arriving in a car rather than a carriage and without her traditional mounted escort of Household Cavalry.
And she won’t wear her traditional robes or crown either.
The Prince of Wales will opt for a suit instead of his usual dress.
Much of Westminster is already being shut down ready for the speech.
