Queen's Speech to finally take place next Wednesday
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The Queen’s Speech will take place next Wednesday, the Government has announced.
The state opening of parliament, when the Queen sets out the Government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead, had been due to take place on Monday but was delayed while the Conservatives negotiated a deal with the DUP to support their minority administration.
Those talks are still ongoing, and one theory is that Theresa May has set a deadling in order to force the DUP's hand.
A statement from Andrea Leadsom, newly appointed as the Leader of the Commons, said this morning: “The Government has agreed with Buckingham Palace that the State Opening of Parliament will take place on 21 June 2017.”
The revised date may affect the Queen’s plans to attend Royal Ascot, which takes place next week.
The Conservatives are expected to bring forward a diluted agenda after failing to secure a majority in the general election.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said parts of the Tory manifesto had to be “pruned away” because they would not command support from the Commons.
Theresa May announced her plan to lead a minority government after the election result with the support of the DUP – though the terms of any arrangement with the Northern Irish party have yet to emerge.
Sinn Fein have warned that any deal between the Tories and DUP could wreck the Northern Ireland peace process.
