:00:18. > :00:20.Hello, and welcome to the programme, on the day the Queen came
:00:21. > :00:23.to Westminster for the state opening of Parliament.
:00:24. > :00:26.Her Majesty set out the bills the Government wants to pass,
:00:27. > :00:40.My Government will seek to maintain a deep and special partnership with
:00:41. > :00:41.the European allies. And to forge new trading relationships across the
:00:42. > :00:42.globe. But Theresa May said her Government
:00:43. > :00:47.would build a stronger and safer The Lords too give their first
:00:48. > :00:52.verdict on the speech. While back in the Commons
:00:53. > :01:09.a conservative MP uses his big May I wish to reassure members, may
:01:10. > :01:10.I reassure the Prime Minister, I am still young...
:01:11. > :01:11.LAUGHTER Still thrusting.
:01:12. > :01:13.But let's begin at the start of the day.
:01:14. > :01:15.This was a rather unusual state opening.
:01:16. > :01:17.Because no one was expecting a general election at the start
:01:18. > :01:20.of June, there was no time to prepare for the traditional pomp
:01:21. > :01:23.and ceremony with coaches, horses and mass ranks of guardsmen.
:01:24. > :01:27.And so it was a very scaled back procession that set off
:01:28. > :01:32.With the Queen travelling by car to Westminster accompanied
:01:33. > :01:37.The Duke of Edinburgh was unusually absent too,
:01:38. > :01:43.having been taken to hospital for treatment for an infection.
:01:44. > :01:46.Inside the Lords there was a more familiar look to things -
:01:47. > :01:50.with peers in their traditional red robes and ermine -
:01:51. > :01:53.despite the sweltering heat and the Yeoman of the guard lining
:01:54. > :01:58.When the Queen - without her ceremonial robes -
:01:59. > :02:01.and Prince Charles arrived they processed through the Lords
:02:02. > :02:04.gallery walking behind the imperial state crown
:02:05. > :02:10.and took their seats on the thrones in the House of Lords.
:02:11. > :02:13.And then it was time to despatch Black Rod to the House of Commons
:02:14. > :02:21.As is the tradition, the door to the Commons
:02:22. > :02:22.was slammed in his face, showing the independence
:02:23. > :02:34.And there was a more recent tradition, a heckle from veteran
:02:35. > :02:51.Mr Speaker, the Queen commands this honourable house to attend Her
:02:52. > :02:54.Majesty immediately in the house of Peers. Get your skates on! First
:02:55. > :02:56.race is half-past two! And with that Mps left the Commons -
:02:57. > :03:00.processing out of their chamber - through central lobby
:03:01. > :03:02.and on into the House of Lords. Normally the Prime Minister
:03:03. > :03:04.and the Leader of the Opposition exchange pleasantries,
:03:05. > :03:07.but there was little chit chat between Theresa May
:03:08. > :03:11.and Jeremy Corbyn. And when MPs had arrived at the bar
:03:12. > :03:15.at the back of the Lords, the Queen read out the contents
:03:16. > :03:18.of the speech - the 64th time Beginning with the Government's
:03:19. > :03:32.plans for Brexit. My Government's priority is to
:03:33. > :03:38.secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the European Union.
:03:39. > :03:42.My ministers are committed to working with Parliament, the
:03:43. > :03:47.devolved administrations, business and others to build the widest
:03:48. > :03:51.possible consensus on the country's future outside the European Union.
:03:52. > :03:58.Establishing new national policies on immigration, international
:03:59. > :03:59.sanctions, nuclear safeguards, agriculture and fisheries.
:04:00. > :04:02.There was a pledge to bring in a Bill on the next
:04:03. > :04:05.And a pledge to reform technical education.
:04:06. > :04:06.There was no word on grammar schools.
:04:07. > :04:09.But, instead, there was a pledge to prioritise mental health
:04:10. > :04:18.My Government will continue to work to ensure that every child has the
:04:19. > :04:20.opportunity to attend a good school and that all schools are fairly
:04:21. > :04:35.funded. Proposals will be brought forward to
:04:36. > :04:38.ban unfair tenants fees, promote fairness and transparency in the
:04:39. > :04:44.housing market and help ensure more homes are built. My ministers will
:04:45. > :04:45.work to improve social care and will bring forward proposals for
:04:46. > :04:47.consultation. There'd be a public inquiry
:04:48. > :04:55.into the Grenfell Tower block fire. To ascertain the causes and ensure
:04:56. > :05:03.that the appropriate lessons are learned. To support victims my
:05:04. > :05:07.Government will take forward measures to introduce an independent
:05:08. > :05:12.public advocate who will act for bereaved families after a public
:05:13. > :05:18.disaster, and support them at public inquests. In the light of the
:05:19. > :05:21.terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, my Government's
:05:22. > :05:25.counterterrorism strategy will be reviewed to ensure that the police
:05:26. > :05:32.and security services have all powers they need and that the length
:05:33. > :05:33.of custodial sentences for terrorism related offences are sufficient to
:05:34. > :05:35.keep the population safe. So, a legislative programme
:05:36. > :05:37.containing 27 bills with several focused on the country's departure
:05:38. > :05:40.from the European Union, and largely stripped of the more
:05:41. > :05:42.controversial elements of the Conservatives'
:05:43. > :05:46.election manifesto. The nine-minute address saw symbolic
:05:47. > :05:50.policies such as the expansion of grammar schools shelved -
:05:51. > :05:53.and others like controversial social care plans given
:05:54. > :05:59.the status of consultations. And there was one other omission -
:06:00. > :06:02.no mention of the proposed state visit by the President
:06:03. > :06:09.of the United States, Donald Trump. A couple of hours later MPs gathered
:06:10. > :06:12.to begin their debate on what had been proposed,
:06:13. > :06:15.but before they began they held a minute's silence to remember those
:06:16. > :06:18.who'd lost their lives in the recent terror attacks and the
:06:19. > :06:23.Grenfell Tower block fire. On these occasions the opposition
:06:24. > :06:26.leader gives their thoughts on the speech before the Prime
:06:27. > :06:27.Minister. Jeremy Corbyn began by talking
:06:28. > :06:31.about the fire at Grenfell Tower which left dozens dead and hundreds
:06:32. > :06:36.homeless. What makes it both a tragedy
:06:37. > :06:39.and an outrage is that every single one of those deaths
:06:40. > :06:42.could have been avoided. Something has gone
:06:43. > :06:45.horrifically wrong. The North Kensington
:06:46. > :06:47.community are demanding answers, and they are
:06:48. > :06:51.entitled to those answers. Thousands of people living
:06:52. > :06:55.in tower blocks around the country need urgent reassurance,
:06:56. > :06:58.and the emergency services, especially Fire And Rescue Services,
:06:59. > :07:03.in this case, deserve our deepest Turning to the speech itself
:07:04. > :07:09.he argued there was very little in it for a two year session
:07:10. > :07:13.of Parliament. A threadbare legislative
:07:14. > :07:15.programme from a Government that has lost
:07:16. > :07:18.its majority and apparently ran This would be a thin legislative
:07:19. > :07:28.programme even if it was There's not enough in there
:07:29. > :07:35.to fill up one year! He turned to what was
:07:36. > :07:37.not in the speech. To cheers he said there was no
:07:38. > :07:41.mention of scrapping the winter fuel Mercifully, neither is there any
:07:42. > :07:46.mention of ditching the triple lock. Pensioners across Britain will also
:07:47. > :07:50.be grateful to know that the Tory commitment on that
:07:51. > :07:54.has also been binned. And older people and their families
:07:55. > :07:57.might also be keen for some clarity around the Government's
:07:58. > :08:02.policy on social care. Whether it's still what was
:08:03. > :08:05.originally set out in the Conservative manifesto,
:08:06. > :08:08.or whether it is what it was later amended
:08:09. > :08:10.to, or whether it is now And I'm sure it's just a matter
:08:11. > :08:15.of historical record, but looking on a Conservative
:08:16. > :08:18.website today the manifesto has been It apparently
:08:19. > :08:25.no longer exists. No deal is not better
:08:26. > :08:29.than a bad deal. It is a bad deal and not
:08:30. > :08:32.viable for this country. We need full access to the single
:08:33. > :08:36.market and a customs arrangement that provide Britain,
:08:37. > :08:40.as the Brexit secretary has pledged, and I quote, "with the exact
:08:41. > :08:45.same benefits as now". Neither must arbitrary
:08:46. > :08:49.targets for immigration be prioritised over the jobs and living
:08:50. > :08:51.standards of the people of Let's decide our immigration
:08:52. > :08:56.policy on the basis of the needs of our communities and our
:08:57. > :09:04.economy, not to the tune of dog whistle cynicism of Lynton Crosby
:09:05. > :09:10.or the hate campaigns or indeed... Or indeed, Mr Speaker, the hate
:09:11. > :09:17.campaigns of some sections of our press, whose idea of patriotism
:09:18. > :09:22.is to base themselves in an overseas And he concluded by
:09:23. > :09:27.reflecting on the outcome The Prime Minister began the
:09:28. > :09:37.election campaign saying if I lose just six seats I will
:09:38. > :09:43.lose this election. When it came to it, she lost more
:09:44. > :09:46.than four times that many From Cardiff to Canterbury,
:09:47. > :09:51.from Stockton to Kensington, people And they sent an unequivocal message
:09:52. > :10:02.that austerity must be in London and Manchester and said
:10:03. > :10:11.the Queen's speech included measures Theresa May also reflected
:10:12. > :10:15.on the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester and said
:10:16. > :10:17.the Queen's speech included measures We will work to reach
:10:18. > :10:20.international agreements that regulate cyberspace,
:10:21. > :10:22.to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorist planning,
:10:23. > :10:24.and encourage tech companies to do more to remove
:10:25. > :10:29.harmful content from their networks. And we will establish
:10:30. > :10:32.a new commission for countering extremism, as a statutory body
:10:33. > :10:34.to help fight hatred and extremism in the same way
:10:35. > :10:38.as we have fought racism, because this extremism is every bit
:10:39. > :10:45.as insidious and destructive to our values, and we will stop
:10:46. > :10:48.at nothing to defeat it. The whole country was heartbroken
:10:49. > :10:52.by the horrific loss of life and the utter devastation
:10:53. > :10:56.that we have seen. I am sure the whole House
:10:57. > :10:59.will join me in sending our deepest condolences to the friends
:11:00. > :11:03.and families of all those who lost loved ones, and today we also think
:11:04. > :11:06.of those who survive but lost One lady I had met ran from the fire
:11:07. > :11:11.wearing no more than a So let me be absolutely
:11:12. > :11:19.clear, the support on the ground for families in the initial
:11:20. > :11:21.hours was not good enough. People were left without belongings,
:11:22. > :11:24.without roofs over their heads, without even basic information about
:11:25. > :11:28.what had happened, what they should That was a failure of the state,
:11:29. > :11:36.local and national, to help people As Prime Minister,
:11:37. > :11:43.I apologise for that failure. And as Prime Minister I have
:11:44. > :11:46.taken responsibility for doing what we can
:11:47. > :11:48.to put things right. Mrs May turned to Labour's
:11:49. > :11:51.performance in the recent election. He fought a spirited campaign
:11:52. > :11:54.and he came a good second. Which was both better
:11:55. > :12:05.than the pundits predicted and that The election also showed that,
:12:06. > :12:13.as it faces the big challenges of our future, our country is divided -
:12:14. > :12:17.red versus blue, young versus old, As I said here last week,
:12:18. > :12:22.the test for all of us is whether we choose to reflect
:12:23. > :12:25.divisions or help the country With humility and resolve,
:12:26. > :12:29.this Government will seek We will do what is in the national
:12:30. > :12:34.interest and we will work with anyone in any party
:12:35. > :12:41.that is prepared to do the same. How is the interim
:12:42. > :12:44.Prime Minister going to LAUGHTER Going to convince
:12:45. > :12:48.the country that she can negotiate a successful
:12:49. > :12:52.Brexit within the time limit with 27 other EU countries, when she hasn't
:12:53. > :12:56.been able even to negotiate the deal with ten Democratic Unionist members
:12:57. > :13:01.of this house in the time limit Can I thank the honourable
:13:02. > :13:07.gentleman for giving me the opportunity to welcome
:13:08. > :13:10.the work that the Right Honourable member, the Secretary of State
:13:11. > :13:16.for Exiting the European Union, has undertaken in relation to preparing
:13:17. > :13:20.our negotiations and starting those formal negotiations
:13:21. > :13:23.on Monday of this week? And I will be in Brussels for the EU
:13:24. > :13:29.Council later this week And she concluded that the last
:13:30. > :13:33.few months had been It has been an unsettling
:13:34. > :13:37.time which has tested the spirit of our country,
:13:38. > :13:41.but we are a resilient country. Our response to disaster and acts
:13:42. > :13:47.of terror which takes the lives of innocent people must be this:
:13:48. > :13:53.compassion, unity, resolve. For we are a great nation
:13:54. > :13:57.and a great people. We have been through and survived
:13:58. > :14:00.the toughest of times Once again, we can and
:14:01. > :14:05.will grow stronger from The Queen's speech
:14:06. > :14:11.on its own will not solve every challenge
:14:12. > :14:16.our country faces. Not every problem can be solved
:14:17. > :14:19.by an act of Parliament. It is a step forward to building
:14:20. > :14:24.a more compassionate, more united That is what this Government
:14:25. > :14:27.will aim to achieve, it is what this Queen's
:14:28. > :14:29.speech will deliver. and I commend the Queen's
:14:30. > :14:37.speech to the house. It was then the turn of other party
:14:38. > :14:40.leaders and backbench MPs to give their initial reactions
:14:41. > :14:45.to the Government's plans. And much of the focus
:14:46. > :14:47.was the arguments that The Prime Minister's gamble
:14:48. > :14:53.backfired and she's desperately clung onto power, at least for now,
:14:54. > :14:58.and stumbled into the Brexit negotiations on Monday morning,
:14:59. > :15:05.regardless of the almost all-male team equipped with no credible plan,
:15:06. > :15:07.no mandate and seemingly no I can see the Prime Minister
:15:08. > :15:11.floundering, but where is the stable Government that the Prime
:15:12. > :15:13.Minister promised us? The longest serving MP,
:15:14. > :15:18.the father of the house argued for continued membership
:15:19. > :15:25.of the single market. We can show that we
:15:26. > :15:28.can rise above this. I'm glad that there are channels
:15:29. > :15:30.that are open to the Liberals, the Labour Party, I am
:15:31. > :15:36.sure the Scottish Nationalists we don't really know what the basis
:15:37. > :15:39.is on from which we are negotiating I think it's will have to be
:15:40. > :15:46.carried by what I think cross-party majority that this house
:15:47. > :15:49.could easily command, if we were able to put in to place some
:15:50. > :16:01.processes to achieve it. One, we want to do
:16:02. > :16:03.free trade agreements with other countries around
:16:04. > :16:06.the world and you can't do it if you're in the customs market
:16:07. > :16:08.or the customs union. Two, they made it very clear
:16:09. > :16:11.that they had to pay budget contributions and accept free
:16:12. > :16:13.movement, which we have no intention It is one of the few things the two
:16:14. > :16:17.campaigns agreed upon. We all told the British public
:16:18. > :16:20.we would be leaving the single That was repeated in the Article 50
:16:21. > :16:24.letter and was appreciated by the EU and voted on and approved
:16:25. > :16:27.overwhelmingly by the House of Her Majesty has launched
:16:28. > :16:40.many ships in her time, never such an empty vessel
:16:41. > :16:42.as the one today. I am not sure whether wasting
:16:43. > :16:45.the Monarch's time is a treasonous act, I hope
:16:46. > :16:47.for the Prime Minister's sake it is not, but the Queen's speech
:16:48. > :16:50.shows that we have a Government who has lost touch with its people
:16:51. > :17:01.and lost touch with reality. The Prime Minister continues
:17:02. > :17:03.to pursue, it is clear from the recent statement,
:17:04. > :17:05.that she seeks to pursue a extreme version of Brexit,
:17:06. > :17:07.having failed to gain any There is no plan to keep Britain
:17:08. > :17:11.in the single market as the right honourable member
:17:12. > :17:14.mentioned earlier or indeed for the We will therefore seek to amend
:17:15. > :17:17.the Queen's speech to add in membership of the single
:17:18. > :17:22.market and of the custom's union. When people voted
:17:23. > :17:23.in the European Union referendum to leave
:17:24. > :17:25.the European union, they voted to leave
:17:26. > :17:28.the single market and the customs I believe that Northern Ireland
:17:29. > :17:33.must, along with the rest of the And there was a clear warning over
:17:34. > :17:52.the direction the DUP wanted to see. We work with Government
:17:53. > :17:54.during the course of the next period in this party
:17:55. > :17:57.to ensure that we do deliver prosperity, to deliver greater
:17:58. > :18:02.spending on health and education and that we do see an end to the tunnel,
:18:03. > :18:07.the dark tunnel of austerity. This Queens' speech does
:18:08. > :18:09.not herald any hope for This Government and the preceding
:18:10. > :18:25.Government have knocked out the rungs of the ladder
:18:26. > :18:27.of opportunity for so That reach to the first
:18:28. > :18:31.rung is now very high and it is very difficult
:18:32. > :18:33.to get into further Or into nursing without
:18:34. > :18:40.the nursing bursary. When Southern is not happening
:18:41. > :18:42.because of the election result, no grammar schools,
:18:43. > :18:44.no proposals in social care, no scrapping of free school
:18:45. > :18:46.meals for infants. We need to see a Government,
:18:47. > :18:48.not discovered, we need to see at the next election
:18:49. > :18:51.a Government that looks at those who are aspirant, gives them
:18:52. > :18:53.the opportunity to succeed. This Government, this
:18:54. > :18:55.Queen's speech is I wish the Government well
:18:56. > :18:58.in what it is trying to do on Brexit, I will give it my
:18:59. > :19:02.support, not unqualified, I will try as a backbencher to be
:19:03. > :19:03.helpfully critical. I appreciate we're going,
:19:04. > :19:06.I want to work with other members of this house to try and achieve a
:19:07. > :19:09.sensible outcome that doesn't damage our economic well-being
:19:10. > :19:12.and our national security. If we don't get this right,
:19:13. > :19:17.we are going to be in Just like MPs, peers have also been
:19:18. > :19:24.away from Westminster But unlike MPs, their Lordships
:19:25. > :19:28.haven't had to face any battles When the Lords commenced its debate
:19:29. > :19:34.the first speaker was a seasoned Conservative and former
:19:35. > :19:39.Cabinet Minister. It looks like a good
:19:40. > :19:44.election for Labour. Indeed, they are behaving as if they
:19:45. > :19:47.have won it, despite being 56 seats behind the Tories and
:19:48. > :19:50.the new rapturous enthusiasm on the benches opposite for
:19:51. > :19:54.Jeremy Corbyn is only matched by their relief
:19:55. > :20:02.that he is not running the country. Then came the youngest
:20:03. > :20:04.member of the Lords, She spoke about theories why
:20:05. > :20:09.the State Opening had Some of you may know that
:20:10. > :20:14.I was David Cameron's press secretary and whilst
:20:15. > :20:23.I have huge operation for my former boss, I
:20:24. > :20:27.think it is fair to say he did give me one or two PR
:20:28. > :20:30.challenges over the years. However, faced with an unforeseen,
:20:31. > :20:33.shall we put it, delay of the Queen's speech, I don't think
:20:34. > :20:39.even I could have come up with slow drying ink on vellum,
:20:40. > :20:44.so I have to hand it to my successors in number
:20:45. > :20:47.ten for that stroke of genius. Lord Newby said he'd
:20:48. > :20:49.struggled to write his speech because of uncertainty over
:20:50. > :21:05.what might be in the Queen's Speech. But Sunday came and
:21:06. > :21:07.the fog hadn't lifted. The only new announcement was that
:21:08. > :21:09.because it was proving so difficult to write this
:21:10. > :21:11.year's Queen speech, the Government had decided not
:21:12. > :21:14.to have one next year at all. I suspect there are
:21:15. > :21:16.a number of issues on which the Conservative and DUP
:21:17. > :21:19.Government might not find all the MPs of their respective
:21:20. > :21:21.parties in total agreement. Particularly, if the Prime Minister
:21:22. > :21:23.fails to put jobs and the economy of this country at the heart
:21:24. > :21:27.of the Brexit negotiations. My Lords, I want
:21:28. > :21:31.to be clear on this, should the House of Commons send
:21:32. > :21:35.this house legislation that has been amended from the
:21:36. > :21:38.Government's original intentions then ministers should not
:21:39. > :21:43.seek to use your lordship's house to thwart the mandate of
:21:44. > :21:49.a democratically elected house. Last year, the vote
:21:50. > :21:56.was not just to leave the EU, it was a profound
:21:57. > :21:58.and justified expression that our country often does not
:21:59. > :22:01.work in the way that it should for millions
:22:02. > :22:02.of ordinary, working families. For that reason, we
:22:03. > :22:05.will work to build a stronger economy so we can improve
:22:06. > :22:08.people's living standards and fund the public services
:22:09. > :22:14.on which we all depend. Finally, The tradition
:22:15. > :22:16.is that the opening speeches in the Commons on the day of state
:22:17. > :22:22.opening are light hearted affairs, given by two Government MPs,
:22:23. > :22:24.one older hand and one It fell to Richard Benyon to get
:22:25. > :22:30.the day under way and he revealed Mr Speaker, I'm not the first
:22:31. > :22:35.Richard Benyon to be asked to move My great, great grandfather
:22:36. > :22:42.was the MP for Berkshire Though, in many ways
:22:43. > :22:52.a great man, there is no record of him ever troubling
:22:53. > :22:56.Hansard with any speech. However, he was asked by Disraeli
:22:57. > :23:07.to move the loyal address in 1869, but replied
:23:08. > :23:09.that though mindful of the honour as a matter
:23:10. > :23:11.of principle, he never As you know, my father was one
:23:12. > :23:20.of your predecessors as member for Buckingham and he told
:23:21. > :23:29.that story to Speaker Thomas who clasp a hand to his head and said,
:23:30. > :23:33.how I wish there were more like him Mr Speaker, I still think
:23:34. > :23:40.of myself as young. But being asked to do
:23:41. > :23:42.this singular honour reminds me that I am,
:23:43. > :23:47.as golfers put it, on the back nine. In the election that we have
:23:48. > :23:54.all just enjoyed or endured, whatever your perspective,
:23:55. > :23:56.I faced a Labour candidate who was born a year after I was selected
:23:57. > :24:07.to fight the seat I now hold. Teams of therapists will be needed
:24:08. > :24:10.to help me overcome the brutal reality that I've gone
:24:11. > :24:12.straight from being young thruster to old codger
:24:13. > :24:14.with nothing in between. The second speech came
:24:15. > :24:44.from another Conservative. It is a great privilege for me,
:24:45. > :24:47.the son of Ghanaian this country in the 1960s
:24:48. > :24:50.to perform this duty today. My mother lived in Liverpool
:24:51. > :24:53.where her elder brother She remembers Sir Winston
:24:54. > :24:55.Churchill's funeral and She certainly would
:24:56. > :24:58.never have believed that her only son would come
:24:59. > :25:00.a British member of Parliament. This is one of the strengths
:25:01. > :25:03.of this country. I know people are wondering,
:25:04. > :25:05.the custom is for this speech to be delivered
:25:06. > :25:07.by a young, thrusting MP. After seven years in this house,
:25:08. > :25:10.I was slightly confused One of my honourable
:25:11. > :25:12.friends, a former whip, said, oh, you're meant to be
:25:13. > :25:15.the young one, are you? In my intake of 2010,
:25:16. > :25:18.I have seen such meteoric high-flyers as the Business
:25:19. > :25:20.Secretary, a Home Secretary and even May I reassure the Prime Minister I
:25:21. > :25:30.am still young, still thrusting. And that's it from me for now but do
:25:31. > :25:35.join me at the same time tomorrow when that debate on the Queen's
:25:36. > :25:39.speech continues, but for