2016 - Live: BBC One

:00:15. > :00:21.It is 10.30am at Westminster where David Cameron's Government is about

:00:22. > :00:25.to present its plans for the year ahead in the Queen's Speech

:00:26. > :00:28.featuring a rich blend of pageantry and politics at the State Opening of

:00:29. > :01:01.Parliament. Yes, good morning, it is the start

:01:02. > :01:04.of a brand-new session of Parliament and Her Majesty, its Queen will

:01:05. > :01:08.arrive here at Westminster in a short while to open that new session

:01:09. > :01:12.setting out the Government's agenda. So one year after it was elected, is

:01:13. > :01:17.this Conservative Government running out of steam? As some of the critics

:01:18. > :01:20.insist or is it distracted as others are by the referendum campaign on

:01:21. > :01:24.Britain's future in the European Union? We will know soon enough when

:01:25. > :01:28.we see the list of Bills in the Queen's Speech and that, of course,

:01:29. > :01:32.let me underline is the main focus of today's events. Well, earlier

:01:33. > :01:36.this morning, David Cameron left Number Ten for Parliament. This will

:01:37. > :01:40.be Queen's Speech number six for him as Prime Minister, just the second

:01:41. > :01:43.for him as leader of a majority Conservative Government. It will

:01:44. > :01:47.tell us something about his priorities today. Also this morning,

:01:48. > :01:53.we saw Labour's Jeremy Corbyn making his way to the Commons. This time

:01:54. > :01:58.last year, let's not forget, he was a veteran Labour backbencher,

:01:59. > :02:02.playing no prominent role in the events of State Opening.

:02:03. > :02:06.And that involves walking alongside David Cameron as they attend the

:02:07. > :02:11.House of Lords to listen to the Queen's Speech. The ceremonial

:02:12. > :02:15.events have already started. Breakfast time this morning, there

:02:16. > :02:22.was some gentlemen performing an age old ritual.

:02:23. > :02:26.By the centre so march. These are the Yeomen of the Guard

:02:27. > :02:34.and they are preparing to perform the ceremonial search of the cellars

:02:35. > :02:39.of Westminster. And they are there in Prince's Chamber which is above

:02:40. > :02:43.the cellar's where Guy Fawkes was discovered in 1605. The pageantry

:02:44. > :02:47.and the colour already underway here at Westminster.

:02:48. > :02:49.I should say that everything is ready at the Sovereign's Entrance of

:02:50. > :02:55.the Palace of Westminster. This is where the Queen will be arriving in

:02:56. > :02:58.45 minutes time and the impressive ceremony of the State Opening will

:02:59. > :03:02.begin. Let's look inside the House of

:03:03. > :03:08.Lords. It is a magnificent sight. This is the most elaborate and

:03:09. > :03:11.Ritchie decorated -- richly decorated part of the Palace of

:03:12. > :03:16.Westminster. It is pretty packed, isn't it? High demand. No surprise,

:03:17. > :03:19.this is after all the biggest ceremonial event in the

:03:20. > :03:22.Parliamentary calendar. All the peers, wearing their appropriate

:03:23. > :03:26.Parliamentary robes. They are not allowed in today without the robes

:03:27. > :03:30.and this is where the Queen will deliver that speech from the throne

:03:31. > :03:37.of the House of Lords, the focal point of this great chamber designed

:03:38. > :03:40.in the middle of the 19th century. So that's the scene in the House of

:03:41. > :03:44.Lords. We will have another look inside the chamber later on to spot

:03:45. > :03:47.who is there and to see some of the new arrivals in the House of Lords.

:03:48. > :03:50.Let's come back to the studio and let me introduce my guests today.

:03:51. > :03:54.I'm delighted to say that Liz Truss is with us for the Conservatives,

:03:55. > :03:57.the Secretary of State for The environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

:03:58. > :04:02.we have Lucy Powell, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and

:04:03. > :04:07.the for the Scottish National Party, we have Joanna Cherry. Welcome to

:04:08. > :04:10.you all. Thank you for coming. We're going to enjoy the day. There is

:04:11. > :04:13.lots of politics, but lots of colour to enjoy as well and of course,

:04:14. > :04:17.today, we wouldn't be the same without our political editor, Laura

:04:18. > :04:21.Kuenssberg. What are we looking forward to, Laura? I have come back

:04:22. > :04:26.through the warns of Westminster and I have just passed some of the

:04:27. > :04:30.horsemen lining up to take their places, their shining breast plates,

:04:31. > :04:33.they are having a last minute polish of their extraordinary uniforms and

:04:34. > :04:36.it is made me think, you know, there is one thing on this kind of day

:04:37. > :04:39.that just doesn't change, the spender of the occasion, the sense

:04:40. > :04:45.of the importance of the monarch coming down here to Westminster, but

:04:46. > :04:48.today, for me, there are two very important first and potentially a

:04:49. > :04:52.last, it is the first time we're going to see Jeremy Corbyn in his

:04:53. > :04:58.position walking alongside David Cameron at this kind of occasion,

:04:59. > :05:01.that's going to be a big political moment, more interestingly, I think,

:05:02. > :05:05.this could be David Cameron's last Queen's Speech as Prime Minister if

:05:06. > :05:08.the European referendum goes the wrong way for Number Ten. Just think

:05:09. > :05:13.about that for a moment. It is far from certain, of course, it is a big

:05:14. > :05:19.if, but surely he would only be human to be coming here with a just

:05:20. > :05:23.little bit of that thought in his mind. He wants to show today, there

:05:24. > :05:26.is still gas in the tank and his Government has plenty to do. The

:05:27. > :05:30.Conservative Party is having a really hard time at the moment. So

:05:31. > :05:34.we have a dismounted detachment of the Household Cavalry arriving as

:05:35. > :05:39.they always do, they look splendid, Laura already told us, they have

:05:40. > :05:43.been previousing, they are led by Captain Deano Wednesday, he is from

:05:44. > :05:46.Swansea. I was chatting to him yesterday. Telling me that lots of

:05:47. > :05:50.the young men taking part today, they are still in training, the

:05:51. > :05:55.youngest of them is 17 by the way. There are 16 of them currently under

:05:56. > :05:59.going equine training at the Household Cavalry training wing.

:06:00. > :06:03.They will be lining the staircase ready for the principle arrivals

:06:04. > :06:08.later on when the Imperial State Crown arrives, The Prince of Wales

:06:09. > :06:11.and the Duchess of Cornwall. Later on we will see the Queen and the

:06:12. > :06:16.Duke of Edinburgh arriving too. So, there they are. The first

:06:17. > :06:20.participants arriving for us in the Palace of Westminster ready for the

:06:21. > :06:26.State Opening to begin a little later. Laura was setting the scene

:06:27. > :06:33.for us, but I'm wondering what Liz made of this? This is a great event.

:06:34. > :06:38.It is fan TAssic to be in the studio. Fantastic to be here with

:06:39. > :06:43.this great vister of Parliament, I think what we will see today is the

:06:44. > :06:49.quality and quantity of Bills that we're putting forward will match up

:06:50. > :06:54.to the splendour of the occasion. We have got exciting reforms in terms

:06:55. > :06:59.of social reforms, so making sure our prisons are doing their job and

:07:00. > :07:02.rehabilitating offenders and helping children and helping get more

:07:03. > :07:06.children into adoption and also, major economic reforms to make sure

:07:07. > :07:11.our economy keeps on trackment we've got the lowest level of claimant

:07:12. > :07:14.count since 1975 and we are making huge progress and what we will see

:07:15. > :07:18.today is more exciting steps forward on that front. OK, thank you very

:07:19. > :07:23.much. Lucy, your take on the day's events? Like Liz and Laura said, it

:07:24. > :07:26.is a fantastic occasion. This is only my fourth Queen's Speech. So I

:07:27. > :07:31.think it is a wonderful day and shows Parliament in much better

:07:32. > :07:36.light than the weekly PMQs episode that we have to go through, so I'm

:07:37. > :07:41.looking forward to that, picking up on what Laura said there, as a

:07:42. > :07:44.Labour MP and a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I don't want this to be

:07:45. > :07:48.David Cameron's last Queen's Speech. I want us to remain in Europe. I

:07:49. > :07:51.wouldn't want Labour voters to think they can use this as an excuse to

:07:52. > :07:54.get rid of David Cameron because that would be the wrong thing for

:07:55. > :07:57.the country. A bit controversial there. Joanna, your thoughts? Well,

:07:58. > :08:01.it is interesting to see the pageantry from the outside. This is

:08:02. > :08:05.my second Queen's Speech and last year I was inside the Houses of

:08:06. > :08:08.Parliament and didn't get an overview of what was going on, what

:08:09. > :08:11.really matters, Huw is the content of the Queen's Speech and it seems

:08:12. > :08:17.to me the Government are running out of steam. They are very much

:08:18. > :08:20.focussed about fighting amongst themselves. What the Scottish

:08:21. > :08:23.National Party would like to see is a programme for Government which

:08:24. > :08:26.recognises that the austerity experiment of the Conservative Party

:08:27. > :08:30.has failed. That they have failed to meet their own targets and their own

:08:31. > :08:34.goals and that we need to invest in the economy and invest in public

:08:35. > :08:37.services and we need to increase fairness and equality across British

:08:38. > :08:41.society and we in the Scottish National Party would also like to

:08:42. > :08:47.see a Queen's Speech which brought forward the long awaited promise to

:08:48. > :08:50.deliver home rule and as near to federalism for Scotland which we

:08:51. > :08:55.don't believe we got in the recent Scotland Act. I'm not sure that will

:08:56. > :09:00.be in the Queen's Speech! Thank you very much. So before this morning's

:09:01. > :09:04.blend of ceremony and tradition gets underway. Why don't we get our

:09:05. > :09:08.bearings in the Palace of Westminster. We will start with the

:09:09. > :09:11.great archway. That's the Sovereign's Entrance. That's why the

:09:12. > :09:15.Queen's coach will arrive at the foot of the great big, Victoria

:09:16. > :09:19.Tower, that's the big square tower at the southern end of the palace

:09:20. > :09:22.which houses the parliamentary archives which was completed in

:09:23. > :09:26.1860, the Household Cavalry will be lining that staircase as we have

:09:27. > :09:30.just seen. They will be there when the Queen arrives later and she will

:09:31. > :09:34.proceed to the Robing Room, the Robing Room is the room over to the

:09:35. > :09:38.left here. As the camera pans over, the doors are shut. We're not

:09:39. > :09:41.allowed in there. There are no cameras allowed in the Robing Room.

:09:42. > :09:43.That's where the Imperial State Crown will be waiting for the

:09:44. > :09:47.Queen's arrival. Her Majesty, accompanied by the Duke of

:09:48. > :09:51.Edinburgh, will then begin the formal procession in State through

:09:52. > :09:55.this room, this wonderful space, this is called the Royal Gallery. It

:09:56. > :10:00.is a great, great part of the Palace of Westminster. One of the royal

:10:01. > :10:04.sections of the palace, it is full of diplomatic and military and other

:10:05. > :10:09.guests. They will make their way through here in procession, very

:10:10. > :10:13.formally into Prince's Chamber. Prince's Chamber is a small room

:10:14. > :10:16.that's next to the House of Lords. Very keen to show you this today. It

:10:17. > :10:20.is the first time we have been allowed to bring coverage from

:10:21. > :10:28.inside Prince's Chamber with its fine portraits of the Tudor dynasty.

:10:29. > :10:32.The room dominated by that big, white marble statue of Queen

:10:33. > :10:35.Victoria. The great, great-grandmother of the Queen

:10:36. > :10:40.Elizabeth II. The Queen will then enter the House of Lords to deliver

:10:41. > :10:43.the speech. The signal will be given to some members of Parliament from

:10:44. > :10:47.thele from the House of Commons. Here we are at the heart of the

:10:48. > :10:51.Palace of Westminster. This is the Central Lobby and this is going to

:10:52. > :10:53.be playing a very prominent role in today's events and my colleague,

:10:54. > :10:57.Vicki Young is there. That's right, this is a great

:10:58. > :11:02.vantage point to see some of the most well-known parts of today's

:11:03. > :11:06.ceremony. It starts with the Speaker's Procession and we will

:11:07. > :11:09.hear the cry of "hats off strangers" and then Black Rod is sent down from

:11:10. > :11:13.the House of Lords through here with an invitation to MPs to listen to

:11:14. > :11:17.the Queen's Speech. But he doesn't exactly get a warm welcome. The huge

:11:18. > :11:21.wooden door is slammed in his face, a symbol of the independence of the

:11:22. > :11:25.House of Commons. Now, today, of course, is all about tradition and

:11:26. > :11:30.no one knows that better than the Queen herself. I have been looking

:11:31. > :11:31.back at some of her appearances at State Openings which span more than

:11:32. > :11:36.half a century. It was in 1952 that Her Majesty

:11:37. > :11:39.delivered her first Queen's Speech to Parliament and there was no less

:11:40. > :11:41.pomp and ceremony then. NEWSREEL: The Queen wearing a gold

:11:42. > :11:45.brocade dress and a diamond and pearl tiara is a picture

:11:46. > :11:48.of grace and charm to delight Six years later, the Queen's Speech

:11:49. > :11:53.was first broadcast to the British It was an era of profound change

:11:54. > :12:00.for post-war Britain. My Government will neglect no

:12:01. > :12:03.opportunity to promote the advance of the colonial territories

:12:04. > :12:08.and the increasing association of their peoples with the management

:12:09. > :12:13.of their own affairs. The decade that followed saw

:12:14. > :12:16.the Queen play a crucial role as former colonies became

:12:17. > :12:19.independent of Britain and part NEWSREEL: Here the Queen met

:12:20. > :12:24.the people and indeed almost rubbed The 1960s also saw changes in social

:12:25. > :12:34.attitudes, reflected Facilities will be provided

:12:35. > :12:41.for a free decision by Parliament It was also a decade that passed

:12:42. > :12:47.the Race Relations Act and saw abortion and homosexuality

:12:48. > :12:51.legalised. Britain's relationship

:12:52. > :12:55.with Europe was a cornerstone Within 12 months the British people

:12:56. > :13:00.will be given the opportunity to decide whether in the light

:13:01. > :13:03.of the outcome of the negotiations this country should

:13:04. > :13:08.retain its membership. Britain chose to stay inside

:13:09. > :13:11.the European Economic Community. The traditions of the State Opening

:13:12. > :13:18.have changed little over the years and Her Majesty has worked with no

:13:19. > :13:21.less than 12 different Each with their own distinctive

:13:22. > :13:28.programme of Government. My Government will continue

:13:29. > :13:32.their policies of exposing State-owned businesses

:13:33. > :13:34.to competition and where appropriate, returning them

:13:35. > :13:40.to the private sector. 1997 saw the first Queen's Speech

:13:41. > :13:43.of the Blair era. It promised a referendum

:13:44. > :13:46.on a Scottish Parliament and a commitment to continue

:13:47. > :13:51.the Northern Ireland Peace Process. My Government will seek

:13:52. > :13:54.reconciliation and a political settlement which has broad support,

:13:55. > :13:58.working in co-operation The following year saw the signing

:13:59. > :14:06.of the Good Friday Agreement. In 2010, a newly formed coalition

:14:07. > :14:09.was focussed on the economy. The first priority is to reduce

:14:10. > :14:11.the deficit and restore Last year, Britain's

:14:12. > :14:18.relationship with its European Early legislation will be introduced

:14:19. > :14:26.to provide for an in-out referendum Britain has changed immeasurably

:14:27. > :14:33.in the 64 years since the Queen delivered her first to speech

:14:34. > :14:36.to Parliament, but the ceremony has altered little over her reign

:14:37. > :14:40.and at 90, the Queen continues to carry out her duty

:14:41. > :14:58.as monarch in accordance Well, all of the ceremony and

:14:59. > :15:02.pageantry is to come, the Queen will be riding in a short while, but

:15:03. > :15:06.there was a reference to the European Union and the fact that

:15:07. > :15:11.there is a vote taking place, and the fact is, it is impossible,

:15:12. > :15:15.despite that long list of bills, there is a backdrop to this Queen's

:15:16. > :15:18.Speech that we cannot avoid. Absolutely, the governing party is

:15:19. > :15:22.engaged in knocking lumps out of each other during this campaign,

:15:23. > :15:26.because it is a fundamental disagreement inside the Government.

:15:27. > :15:28.Ministers who take their seats next to David Cameron at the Cabinet

:15:29. > :15:33.table fundamentally disagree with him, and it is impossible to

:15:34. > :15:37.separate that backdrop, not least because we know some controversial

:15:38. > :15:45.things have been delayed or put off from the Queen's Speech, one in

:15:46. > :15:48.particular has caused real concern in the Tory party, the idea of a

:15:49. > :15:50.British Bill of Rights. Instead of a Bill today, there will be another

:15:51. > :15:56.commitment to do it at some point. The referendum has put that off. The

:15:57. > :16:00.Gentlemen at Arms, one of the royal bodyguards, the most senior, the

:16:01. > :16:05.nearest guard, instituted by Henry VIII in 1509, they celebrate and

:16:06. > :16:12.their 500th anniversary in 2009 and they play a prominent role in the

:16:13. > :16:16.State Opening. The Gentlemen at Arms is captained by the Chief Whip of

:16:17. > :16:20.the House of Lords, they will be leading through the Royal Gallery as

:16:21. > :16:25.the procession gets under way. So as they take their place, we will pick

:16:26. > :16:31.up on the theme that Laurette usefully gave us, the European

:16:32. > :16:35.context. We are going to join Vicki with some guests. It does feel like

:16:36. > :16:38.political debate has been dominated by discussion over the European

:16:39. > :16:42.referendum for several months. I'm joined by the former leader of the

:16:43. > :16:48.Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith, and Chris Bryant for Labour.

:16:49. > :16:51.First of all, Iain Duncan Smith, today is about democracy, in the

:16:52. > :16:56.heart of Parliament, how much of your argument about the UK leaving

:16:57. > :17:02.the EU is about democracy? Well, obviously, a huge section of this is

:17:03. > :17:05.about who governs you, who has the right to say that a government

:17:06. > :17:10.elected to decide what legislation can pass will be struck down by a

:17:11. > :17:16.super national court. There are arguments about economics which both

:17:17. > :17:19.sides will argue that I believe Britain will be ultimately better

:17:20. > :17:23.off, so it is not just about democracy, it is a critical part,

:17:24. > :17:26.who governs you, can an elected check a government out to make new

:17:27. > :17:32.rules and not be overruled by a court in Europe? That is a big, big

:17:33. > :17:36.issue for people, because although they do not think about it every

:17:37. > :17:40.day, it is very important, when you cast your vote that you believe you

:17:41. > :17:43.are voting for a sovereign parliament that makes those rules

:17:44. > :17:47.and nobody can overturn them. How much of a problem is it for your

:17:48. > :17:51.site that it is difficult to paint a picture of what life will be like

:17:52. > :17:56.outside of the EU? The of the unknown is a factor, isn't it?

:17:57. > :18:01.Everybody fears risk, but everything you do in life is about risk, you

:18:02. > :18:05.step out across the road, you take a risk. Nothing is ever as you think

:18:06. > :18:09.it will be for the future. The idea that there are no risks by staying

:18:10. > :18:13.in the European Union when you have a report telling us they will go

:18:14. > :18:17.harder and deeper, more centralised, concentrating around the euro area,

:18:18. > :18:21.problems of mass migration and the Italian banks going insolvent. We do

:18:22. > :18:24.not know what the next five or ten years of the European Union looks

:18:25. > :18:31.like, and that poses risks to the UK. There are risks on both sides,

:18:32. > :18:35.but to be told there are no risks of remaining, when we have seen and

:18:36. > :18:39.massively change over the last 25 years, that is not so. Chris Bryant,

:18:40. > :18:42.the economic adamant has been a big part of the debate, but when you

:18:43. > :18:48.look at the EU countries, they are not doing so well. I love the idea

:18:49. > :18:55.that today is all about democracy. We are about to trade stand the

:18:56. > :19:06.House of Lords that has 800 unelected people in it! -- traipse

:19:07. > :19:13.down. People say there is a real financial

:19:14. > :19:16.risk, and there was not a single independent report that the league

:19:17. > :19:22.campaign can point to which says we will be financially better off if we

:19:23. > :19:27.leave the European Union. Me, there is a democratic issue, which is I

:19:28. > :19:30.want to be able to affect the decisions that affect everybody's

:19:31. > :19:36.lives in this country. I want to sit around the table that draws up rules

:19:37. > :19:40.on dealing with the European arrest warrant, that sits around the table

:19:41. > :19:44.when we decide about rules and children's toys kettles or whatever

:19:45. > :19:50.it is. We magnify our voice through the European Union. We have won 92%

:19:51. > :19:54.of our rows that have been in the European Union, we have been on the

:19:55. > :19:59.winning side of the demand, that is a pretty good record. So we will be

:20:00. > :20:04.marginalised if we leave? The UK is the fifth largest economy, in the

:20:05. > :20:08.world, the fourth most potent defence structure. We said on the

:20:09. > :20:13.United Nations Security Council, we are part of Nato. The whole point I

:20:14. > :20:18.make is the idea that there is an absolute one side but not on the

:20:19. > :20:21.other is a nonsense. As Chris just said, all the independent reports

:20:22. > :20:26.say we would be worse off. That is not true, all the independent report

:20:27. > :20:36.make a simple point, that the UK, on leaving the EU, would still grow and

:20:37. > :20:38.be better off. The debate about whether you'd be marginally better

:20:39. > :20:41.off according to their forecast if you stayed in, but you are going to

:20:42. > :20:45.be better off. I think families will be worse off. These are the people

:20:46. > :20:52.who told us to go into the euro, go into the ERM! I have heard you

:20:53. > :20:59.defend in the stands to be prognostic Asians what will happen

:21:00. > :21:03.to the economy in the future. And we all know forecast are invariably

:21:04. > :21:06.wrong! I come from a tradition which means that which you far more pie,

:21:07. > :21:14.endeavour than by going it alone. We cannot return to the 1950s, to a

:21:15. > :21:18.hermetically sealed unit. We are far better off remaining. A little taste

:21:19. > :21:24.of the robust political argument that has been going on for several

:21:25. > :21:29.months. A tased indeed, thank you very much, and do your guests. This

:21:30. > :21:33.is the scene outside the Palace of Westminster, and this is a rather

:21:34. > :21:40.important arrival, the Blues and Royals today providing the escort

:21:41. > :21:43.for the regalia, in other words the Imperial State Crown, the Cap of

:21:44. > :21:49.Maintenance and the Sword of State, the three grades of royal authority

:21:50. > :21:53.which will arrive at the Palace of Westminster before the Prince of

:21:54. > :21:58.Wales and the Queen later on. -- the three great symbols. The Imperial

:21:59. > :22:02.State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance, which will be taken into the palace

:22:03. > :22:10.and put on display in the Royal Gallery ahead of the Queen's arrival

:22:11. > :22:15.in a short while. The Queen Alexandra State Coach being used

:22:16. > :22:18.today, and inside the coach we have Lieutenant Colonel Sir Andrew Ford,

:22:19. > :22:22.who will be appearing quite soon, because he is the man who is in

:22:23. > :22:34.charge of looking after the Imperial State Crown.

:22:35. > :22:46.And into the Sovereign's Entrance, at the foot of the Victoria Tower.

:22:47. > :22:54.And they are now dismounting, we have the Bargemaster, Paul Ludwig, a

:22:55. > :22:57.very ancient appointment in the royal household, from the days when

:22:58. > :23:05.the monarch used to use the Thames to travel around. The Bargemaster is

:23:06. > :23:18.in charge of the delivery of the regalia today. And the crowd in

:23:19. > :23:30.July, Martin swift, has been here close to corps years. -- the Crown

:23:31. > :23:36.jeweller. Andrew Ford is in charge of very important part of the

:23:37. > :23:45.Queen's diary and these great ceremonial occasions, he will be

:23:46. > :23:49.presented with the Crown. Followed by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon

:23:50. > :24:02.with the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State.

:24:03. > :24:11.The Imperial State Crown, made in 1937 for George VI, and then

:24:12. > :24:15.modified in 1952-3 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It

:24:16. > :24:26.is being taken into the Regalia Room at the bottom of the Sovereign's

:24:27. > :24:31.Staircase. Just there on the left. The other symbols, the sword and the

:24:32. > :24:37.cap, they will be taken in, and they will be prepared for being put on

:24:38. > :24:48.display in the Royal Gallery. That will just take a few minutes, for

:24:49. > :24:51.that to be arranged. So the Crown has been safely delivered here at

:24:52. > :24:57.the Palace of Westminster, and we will talk about that later and the

:24:58. > :25:01.symbolism of the Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance, because they

:25:02. > :25:04.are very ancient symbols of the sovereign's authority and power. It

:25:05. > :25:09.seems like a good moment to big up with my guests again on the European

:25:10. > :25:15.theme. The backdrop, as Laura said, is all-important. Rather difficult

:25:16. > :25:18.to date for us to be discussing a list of proposed legislation without

:25:19. > :25:23.really paying attention to the kind of debate that we had there, which

:25:24. > :25:27.is rather lively, and has exposed divisions in all parties, but

:25:28. > :25:32.certainly your party. What you make of that backdrop? What I would say

:25:33. > :25:36.is that we have an important programme of legislation, yes, we

:25:37. > :25:41.have the European referendum next month, a very important decision for

:25:42. > :25:44.the British people. However, once that referendum is over, and I'm

:25:45. > :25:48.confident in the good sense of the British people that people will come

:25:49. > :25:53.to the conclusion that we are better off remaining part of the European

:25:54. > :25:56.Union, we have a very important programme of domestic reform, making

:25:57. > :26:01.sure that people in all walks of life can get on, whether that is

:26:02. > :26:07.through reforming our prisons, improving our education system,

:26:08. > :26:09.whether it is improving our economy, making sure we invest in

:26:10. > :26:13.infrastructure. All those things are what British people really care

:26:14. > :26:16.about, and it is vital that the Government gets on with that

:26:17. > :26:19.programme of work. What we will see in the Queen's Speech today is a

:26:20. > :26:26.substantial programme of work. The Crown being brought up to the Royal

:26:27. > :26:29.Gallery itself, being put on a rather more grand cushion for this

:26:30. > :26:35.display that will happen in the Royal Gallery, carried in very

:26:36. > :26:39.solemnly by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Ford, formerly of the Welsh

:26:40. > :26:44.Guards, but now in post for ten years at Buckingham Palace.

:26:45. > :26:52.Presenting the Crown to the Marquess of Cholmondeley, who holds a very

:26:53. > :26:57.important position in the Palace of Westminster as the man in charge of

:26:58. > :27:02.all of the Royal sections of the Palace, including the Royal Gallery,

:27:03. > :27:05.the Robing Room, the Sovereign's Staircase, and with joint

:27:06. > :27:10.stewardship of places like Westminster Hall with the Speaker of

:27:11. > :27:15.the House of Commons. So the Crown is on display, and a very soon we

:27:16. > :27:18.will also have the Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance. Just a

:27:19. > :27:25.couple of words about these, the Sword of State states from the 17th

:27:26. > :27:31.century, used at coronations. The cap is a symbol of the sovereign's

:27:32. > :27:36.authority. In ancient times, in the Middle Ages, a gift from the Pope to

:27:37. > :27:47.favoured onyx. The cap then warned by some kings on the way to their

:27:48. > :27:52.coronations. -- worn. I believe George VI wore it on the way to his

:27:53. > :27:59.coronation. They will stay there waiting for the Queen's arrival in a

:28:00. > :28:01.short while. We just had Liz explaining the Government's

:28:02. > :28:05.perspective on the legislation coming up, but in the context of the

:28:06. > :28:11.European referendum, I know that you are backing Remain very firmly, but

:28:12. > :28:16.there are divisions in Labour as well. Your thoughts today on that

:28:17. > :28:21.backdrop. The divisions in the Labour Party are not really there,

:28:22. > :28:24.we support Britain staying in the European Union, but what we will see

:28:25. > :28:28.in this Queen's Speech is a government that has run out of

:28:29. > :28:31.steam, and I think the backdrop of the referendum is only a small part

:28:32. > :28:35.of that. David Cameron has only had a majority Conservative government

:28:36. > :28:40.for one year, and the fact that they cannot come forward with an exciting

:28:41. > :28:44.and coherent, not just Queen's Speech but strategy for the

:28:45. > :28:49.country... More than 20 bills, probably. Up there is no coherent

:28:50. > :29:00.strategy, we have a pick'n'mix of bills that they can get agreement

:29:01. > :29:05.on, the key education bill had to be dropped after opposition from all

:29:06. > :29:09.sides. They are acting against what the Government is doing on the

:29:10. > :29:12.ground, so they talk about wanting to support families, but they are

:29:13. > :29:20.cutting away all support to families on the ground, you know, tax credits

:29:21. > :29:24.cuts, support for families on the ground has all but disappeared. That

:29:25. > :29:25.is why we are seeing more families in crisis, there is no strategy

:29:26. > :29:34.here. Joanna your thoughts, some thoughts

:29:35. > :29:37.on the euro backdrop? The Government have got its eye off the ball, how

:29:38. > :29:40.could it be otherwise, the Conservative Party are split down

:29:41. > :29:43.the middle and too are the Government and the Cabinet. It is

:29:44. > :29:46.deeply concerning because of the splits in the Conservative Party

:29:47. > :29:50.those of us who wish to remain in the EU are not seeing a positive

:29:51. > :29:54.case articulated, the case for being in Europe. I would like to see the

:29:55. > :29:58.Government rather than spinning scare stories, I would like to see

:29:59. > :30:03.them articulate the fact that we have had 60 years of relative peace

:30:04. > :30:07.in Europe. Europe opens us up to a Common Market of 500 million

:30:08. > :30:12.consumers and also, from the Scottish National Party's point of

:30:13. > :30:18.view, the European Union gives us guarantees and protections against

:30:19. > :30:22.some of the more activities in relation to Human Rights and social

:30:23. > :30:29.issues. The Queen is leaving the Palace with the Duke of Edinburgh

:30:30. > :30:34.and they are travelling today in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. A

:30:35. > :30:37.wonderful sight. It is the third time, I think, that the coach has

:30:38. > :30:42.been used for the State Opening. It is a relatively new coach built to

:30:43. > :30:49.celebrate the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. It was unveiled in 2014. It

:30:50. > :30:53.was designed by Jim Frecklington who was responsible for the construction

:30:54. > :31:04.of the Australia State Coach which we also see on these big occasions.

:31:05. > :31:10.The Duke will be celebrating his 90th birth dan on 10th June and the

:31:11. > :31:14.Diamond Jubilee State Coach leaving the main courtyard at Buckingham

:31:15. > :31:24.Palace and making its way towards the Mall.

:31:25. > :31:27.I should say, of course, last year we were enjoying some rather

:31:28. > :31:31.glorious weather. Everything was glinting! My guests are laughing in

:31:32. > :31:35.the studio because it is rather wet today.

:31:36. > :31:39.The forecast is not great. And it is meant to rain for most of the day

:31:40. > :31:45.here in Central London. I'm just looking out now and it seems to be,

:31:46. > :31:48.well not raining heavily, but it is certainly raining and that

:31:49. > :31:52.inevitably will cause a little bit of an effect on proceedings, but it

:31:53. > :31:56.is a great sight, isn't it? That coach there is a grand sight on a

:31:57. > :32:03.day like this on the State Opening. We rarely see a procession of this

:32:04. > :32:07.kind and just behind the coach there, we have the Sovereign's

:32:08. > :32:11.Escort, two divisions of the Blues and Royals, two divisions of the

:32:12. > :32:17.Life Guards, the Blues and Royals in their dark blue tunics and the Life

:32:18. > :32:24.Guards in their dazzling red tunics. 116 men and horses in four divisions

:32:25. > :32:30.and the Field Officer commanding the Queen's escort today, Major Alex

:32:31. > :32:39.Owen of the Blues and Royals. Back in the Royal Gallery, the lord

:32:40. > :32:44.great chamber, the marquess of Cholmondeley. He will take the Crown

:32:45. > :32:50.into the Robing Room on the left-hand side there. And don't they

:32:51. > :32:52.look splendid? The two state trumpeters in their medieval uniform

:32:53. > :32:55.on either side of the door. They will be sounding the fanfare for

:32:56. > :32:59.when the Royal Procession starts later on. They're already in place.

:33:00. > :33:08.So the Crown being taken into the Robing Room. The Robing Room by the

:33:09. > :33:13.way, is also a beautiful room with some magnificent portraits of

:33:14. > :33:17.legends and it is where the Queen will be preparing for that Royal

:33:18. > :33:20.Procession. So we were mentioning just before we stopped there, we

:33:21. > :33:24.were mentioning the fact that we have a list of Bills today. The Bill

:33:25. > :33:28.of Rights issue, Laura, can I bring you on to that? This is something we

:33:29. > :33:33.discussed last year and we've not seen. So what is your reading of

:33:34. > :33:37.that this year? Well, this has been quite a torturous process for the

:33:38. > :33:40.Conservative Party. Long ago now, it feels like, David Cameron promised

:33:41. > :33:45.that there would be a British Bill of Rights. Essentially, a different,

:33:46. > :33:49.some people would argue, slightly watered down version of the various

:33:50. > :33:52.combination of European treaties that we're currently signed up to,

:33:53. > :33:56.the treaties that caused real concern particularly in the Tory

:33:57. > :34:01.Party particularly about how they restrict our ability to do certain

:34:02. > :34:04.things. The fundamental point is whether UK law or EU law is supreme

:34:05. > :34:09.in this country and the Conservatives have been looking for

:34:10. > :34:12.a fix on this for sometime. Not so long ago, in February, March time,

:34:13. > :34:16.the Government did have a proposal on sovereignty worked up. It was

:34:17. > :34:22.that proposal that didn't satisfy Boris Johnson enough to campaign to

:34:23. > :34:27.stay in the EU. But we don't expect that proposal to come forward today.

:34:28. > :34:31.We're going to have an IOU that it will happen on some point. Any light

:34:32. > :34:35.to shed on that? On the issue of the sovereignty Bill, of course, we need

:34:36. > :34:39.to wait for the outcome of the referendum. That is material in that

:34:40. > :34:42.issue and on the subject of the British Bill of Rights, we are

:34:43. > :34:46.committed to it. We need to make sure we get it right and I think it

:34:47. > :34:51.is right, that the Government brings forward legislation when it is ready

:34:52. > :34:57.to do so, when we have made sure we've sorted out the legal issues.

:34:58. > :35:01.It is a complex legal issue... It is more complex than you thought, is

:35:02. > :35:07.that fair? We are still working on it. The point I would make is there

:35:08. > :35:10.is a really priority issues which are in today's Queen's Speech,

:35:11. > :35:13.whether that's on prison reform, whether that's on sorting out

:35:14. > :35:17.Britain's infrastructure, whether it is on areas like digital

:35:18. > :35:24.communications that are very important for getting our economy

:35:25. > :35:28.moving. We get criticised if we bring something out that's not ready

:35:29. > :35:33.and we get criticised if we spend time thinking about it. My view as a

:35:34. > :35:37.Government minister, it is better to do the groundwork and get things

:35:38. > :35:40.sorted out and put things forward when they are ready. We have a

:35:41. > :35:47.substantial programme of social reform here.

:35:48. > :36:02.Just outside the Palace of Westminster and The Prince of Wales

:36:03. > :36:09.and the Duchess of Cornwall are arriving.

:36:10. > :36:13.They are in the Irish State Coach. The carriage procession of the Life

:36:14. > :36:16.Guards travelling escort of the Household Cavalry mounted regiment

:36:17. > :36:22.and 16 men on horses in the escort for The Prince of Wales and under

:36:23. > :36:26.the command of Major Ben Wolf squadron leader of the Life Guards.

:36:27. > :36:29.The National Anthem having been played, a curtailed version of it

:36:30. > :36:35.for The Prince of Wales and the Prince and the duchess will arrive

:36:36. > :36:40.at the Sovereign's Entrance and I think this is the third time that

:36:41. > :37:18.they've attended the State Opening together.

:37:19. > :37:25.They salute the arrival of the Duchess of Corn wal and The Prince

:37:26. > :37:29.of Wales who is 67 this year and the longest serving heir apparent in

:37:30. > :37:35.British history having held that position since 1952. A grand total

:37:36. > :37:39.of 64 years. He is the oldest heir to the throne since 1714. He won't

:37:40. > :37:43.thank me for saying that! They are impressive statistics. So The Prince

:37:44. > :37:47.of Wales and the duchess making their way up there to the

:37:48. > :37:51.sovereign's, through the Sovereign's Entrance up to the Royal Staircase

:37:52. > :37:57.there which will lead to the Royal Gallery. There we have the Duke of

:37:58. > :38:02.Norfolk, the air marshal, another of these great officers of State. He is

:38:03. > :38:06.t man who is responsible for organising some of the biggest

:38:07. > :38:09.events that involve the Royal Family including coronations and state

:38:10. > :38:15.funerals. He has been working very hard to make sure that today's

:38:16. > :38:21.events are running like clockwork. So the Duke of Norfolk there, the

:38:22. > :38:28.hereditary position leading The Prince of Wales and the Duchess up

:38:29. > :38:32.into the Royal Gallery. Through the Norman Porch and then

:38:33. > :38:34.into the Robing Room where they will have a little break before they

:38:35. > :38:48.enter the Royal Gallery itself. Into the Robing Room where the doors

:38:49. > :38:55.will be firmly closed because we're not allowed in there.

:38:56. > :39:00.And another procession is underway. This is the Lord Speaker's

:39:01. > :39:04.procession. This is baroness D'Souza approaching the end of her term as

:39:05. > :39:08.Lord Speaker. In a few weeks time. So this is the last time we will see

:39:09. > :39:13.her in this role at the State Opening Parliament. She presides

:39:14. > :39:16.over sittings of the House of Lords and Baroness D'Souza taking her

:39:17. > :39:23.place there ready to greet Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh

:39:24. > :39:29.when they arrive. And there we have the Lord

:39:30. > :39:34.Chancellor, Michael Gove, making his way to the porch as well, ready for

:39:35. > :39:38.the Queen's arrival. He, of course, has the task of presenting the

:39:39. > :39:44.speech to the Queen. It is in that great big purse that

:39:45. > :39:48.is being carried by the Pursebearer. I hope they've checked it is in

:39:49. > :39:51.there, because that's an important check early in the morning otherwise

:39:52. > :39:55.there would be an embarrassing episode in the House of Lords, but

:39:56. > :39:59.normally the purse is inside, the speech is safely inside the purse

:40:00. > :40:04.and Michael Gove will deliver it a little later. Outside the Palace of

:40:05. > :40:09.Westminster, what a sight, that's Horse Guards Parade and just on the

:40:10. > :40:15.fringes of St James' Park there. The stands already in place for the

:40:16. > :40:23.Queen's Birthday Parade in June. Trooping the Colour. And the Queen's

:40:24. > :40:26.procession already making its way towards the Horseguards Building and

:40:27. > :40:30.it will emerge from the Horseguards Arch on to Whitehall and then

:40:31. > :40:41.they'll have Parliament Square and Big Ben in sight.

:40:42. > :40:54.Back in the Royal Gallery, where the Yeomen of the Guard are providing a

:40:55. > :41:09.Guard of Honour. Here we have the leader of the House of Lords. It is

:41:10. > :41:14.her job today to be in this Royal Procession carrying the Cap of

:41:15. > :41:19.Maintenance and then we'll have the Sword of State also being carried

:41:20. > :41:27.that that State Procession through the Royal Gallery. And they will

:41:28. > :41:30.make their way up to this end of the Royal Gallery so they can retrieve

:41:31. > :41:42.the cap and the sword ready for the Queen's arrival.

:41:43. > :41:47.And we're on Whitehall by now. The bands are playing. The Guards of

:41:48. > :41:51.Honour at certain points including the Queen's Gardens at Buckingham

:41:52. > :41:54.Palace and down there on College Green near the Houses of Parliament,

:41:55. > :42:01.passing the Ministry of Defence there on the left, the great white

:42:02. > :42:07.structure and Downing Street on the right and past the Wales Office

:42:08. > :42:09.which I know rather well! And down past the Treasury and the Foreign

:42:10. > :42:15.Office down towards Parliament Square and the camera lens telling

:42:16. > :42:21.you what the weather is like. A few drops.

:42:22. > :42:24.Very pleased to have live coverage today from inside Prince's Chamber

:42:25. > :42:28.because these things add to the sense of occasion and the wonderful

:42:29. > :42:36.par traits on the wall in this Prince's Chamber. We can just

:42:37. > :42:42.glimpse there, Louis the 12th of France. He was married to Mary Tudor

:42:43. > :42:47.at one point. So you have the Tudor dynasty represented here. It is a

:42:48. > :42:52.wonderful, this in Parliamentary terms is referred to the small ante

:42:53. > :42:56.room. It is a rather grand room, but it is the room that's between the

:42:57. > :43:00.Royal Gallery and the chamber of the House of Lords. It is where lots of

:43:01. > :43:03.Lords congregate to discuss the business of the day. They use it as

:43:04. > :43:07.a kind of lobby if you like, but on the day of the State Opening, we

:43:08. > :43:21.have the Gentlemen at Arms in there ready for the procession.

:43:22. > :43:26.And past the Cenotaph and down towards Westminster and the Life

:43:27. > :43:31.Guards leading the way, the Sovereign's Escort. Followed right

:43:32. > :43:33.at the back by the Blues and Royals. Two divisions of each for the

:43:34. > :44:00.Sovereign's Escort today. The bells of Westminster Abbey and

:44:01. > :44:43.St Margaret's ringing loudly today. And as the royal procession

:44:44. > :45:05.approaches the Sovereign's Entrance, the national anthem will be played.

:45:06. > :46:02.The Queen and the Duke arriving for the State Opening, a slightly

:46:03. > :46:06.different arrival this year, I will explain in a couple of seconds, but

:46:07. > :46:10.the carriage making its way, and the fanfare will be sounded by the state

:46:11. > :46:57.trumpeters. The fanfare has been sounded, very

:46:58. > :47:01.soon the Union flag will be lowered and the Royal Standard will be

:47:02. > :47:05.raised because the Queen is at the Palace of Westminster. I mentioned

:47:06. > :47:09.the slightly different arrangement this year. Buckingham Palace are

:47:10. > :47:14.telling us that for the Queen's comfort and convenience, she will

:47:15. > :47:17.not be taking the usual route up to the Robing Room. She will be

:47:18. > :47:25.bypassing the Royal Staircase and using one of the lifts in the

:47:26. > :47:28.Victoria Tower. So what is going to happen now is that those members of

:47:29. > :47:34.the Household Division awaiting there for the arrival of the Queen,

:47:35. > :47:39.she will emerge at this point, just near the Robing Room. The pages of

:47:40. > :47:45.honour are waiting, and we have some of the heads of the Armed Forces

:47:46. > :47:49.waiting too. Waiting for the Queen to emerge from an entrance on the

:47:50. > :47:55.left, not the usual procession up the staircase today. And then it is

:47:56. > :48:02.a direct route for the Queen into the Robing Room itself. The room

:48:03. > :48:06.itself, we get a glimpse of it now and again, it was actually used as

:48:07. > :48:09.the chamber of the House of Lords during the Second World War when the

:48:10. > :48:13.Palace of Westminster was badly damaged. The House of Lords moved

:48:14. > :48:18.into the Robing Room, used it as a chamber. It was even used as a venue

:48:19. > :48:22.for the State Opening, and the House of Commons relocated to Church House

:48:23. > :48:29.in Westminster, which is not too far away. The Robing Room has been used

:48:30. > :48:41.for different things over the years. The Earl Marshal accompanying the

:48:42. > :48:51.Queen. And the Duke of Edinburgh opening the doors to the Robing

:48:52. > :48:54.Room. There will be a few minutes as the Queen and the Duke prepare

:48:55. > :48:57.themselves for the procession in state, there we are, a slightly

:48:58. > :49:04.different arrangement for the Queen's arrival. Black Rod, the

:49:05. > :49:09.gentleman just walking along there, is the man who is in charge of

:49:10. > :49:12.security in the House of Lords, who will be playing a prominent role

:49:13. > :49:18.later in this ceremony. And here we have the heralds. In ancient time,

:49:19. > :49:21.they were royal messengers, they performed a very important function

:49:22. > :49:29.for monarchs as trusted messengers. These days, they are in charge of

:49:30. > :49:32.the rules of heraldry, the College of Arms, and they represent

:49:33. > :49:34.different levels of seniority and different parts of the United

:49:35. > :49:52.Kingdom too. Led by Thomas Woodcock, the most

:49:53. > :49:59.senior of the heralds presents today, followed by the great

:50:00. > :50:03.Parliamentary maces. So a solemn procession there through the Royal

:50:04. > :50:13.Gallery for the heralds, and there is Black Rod, Lieutenant macro

:50:14. > :50:20.Lieutenant General David Leakey, who has been imposed since 2010. -- in

:50:21. > :50:27.post. The heralds now taking their position, and they are ready now for

:50:28. > :50:31.the Queen to emerge from the Robing Room, ready for the procession to

:50:32. > :50:41.begin into the House of Lords. There we see Black Rod making his way

:50:42. > :50:45.towards the Prince's Chamber. He will be making his way down to the

:50:46. > :50:47.House of Lords. Later on, it will be his job to summon MPs to the House

:50:48. > :51:11.of Lords. So the position now is that everyone

:51:12. > :51:17.is waiting for all of the key players to be ready, if you like.

:51:18. > :51:20.The Queen and the Duke will take a few minutes in the Robing Room to

:51:21. > :51:25.get ready, the Crown, the Queen wears the Imperial State Crown, and

:51:26. > :51:29.supported by the Duke they will get ready for that very grand

:51:30. > :51:33.procession, which, by the way, has not really changed since the middle

:51:34. > :51:37.ages. It is very, very special event for us to see, only seen at the

:51:38. > :51:42.State Opening of Parliament, a procession of this scale, other

:51:43. > :51:47.than, of course, at the Coronation, which is a different order again. We

:51:48. > :51:50.were discussing some of the elements of the legislation, a Bill of

:51:51. > :51:55.Rights, your thoughts on that, please. It is another example of how

:51:56. > :51:58.the Government cannot agree some of its big bills that it wanted to

:51:59. > :52:03.bring forward in this Queen's Speech. And we will see whether that

:52:04. > :52:09.happens, we will see what they have got to say on education... Good idea

:52:10. > :52:15.or not? We have got a sufficient framework of a Bill of Rights within

:52:16. > :52:19.the EU... You would oppose it anyway? We would have to see what

:52:20. > :52:23.they come forward with, but this is more about internal divisions within

:52:24. > :52:28.the Tory party, as far as I can see, rather than necessity for the UK.

:52:29. > :52:32.Your thoughts? The Government have got themselves in a wheel mess, this

:52:33. > :52:37.time last year we had been promised a Bill of Rights but it was not in

:52:38. > :52:42.the Queen's Speech, all that was in it was a promise of a consultation

:52:43. > :52:45.which we still have not got. There was such widespread cross-party

:52:46. > :52:50.concern about the idea of repealing the Human Rights Act. Not only are

:52:51. > :52:54.members of the Government talking about repealing the Human Rights

:52:55. > :52:57.Act, they are also talking about withdrawing from the European

:52:58. > :53:00.Convention on Human Rights. The Home Secretary gave a major speech on

:53:01. > :53:05.this recently, a curious position for her, because she wants to remain

:53:06. > :53:08.within the EU, and by convention all member states signed up to the

:53:09. > :53:11.European Convention on Human Rights. But it would be the most terrible

:53:12. > :53:16.signal to send out internationally for UK to withdraw from this

:53:17. > :53:25.international convention. We are in the Central Lobby. At South,

:53:26. > :53:33.strangers! The familiar command before the speaker's procession. --

:53:34. > :53:39.hats off. The Serjeant at Arms there, who was appointed just last

:53:40. > :53:47.year as Serjeant at Arms in charge of keeping order in the house of

:53:48. > :53:52.Commons, and then John Bercow, who has been in post since 2009. This

:53:53. > :53:58.corridor leads to the Members' Lobby, the speaker's arrival being

:53:59. > :54:06.loudly proclaimed as he goes along. There is the Serjeant at Arms,

:54:07. > :54:10.members greeting the Speaker, some of them probably more friendly than

:54:11. > :54:18.others. He has a famously spiky relationship with some MPs. That is

:54:19. > :54:27.his style. And he entered the chamber of the House of Commons, the

:54:28. > :54:30.maze will be rested on the dispatch boxes, near the dispatch box as by

:54:31. > :54:35.the Serjeant at Arms, and then they will have a breast session, so we

:54:36. > :54:42.will not be allowed to film that. The next thing we will see later on

:54:43. > :54:47.is Black Rod knocking on the door of the Commons, asking to gain entry.

:54:48. > :54:52.John McDonnell, Labour's Shadow Chancellor.

:54:53. > :54:58.So as we were saying, just discussing in the studio, Joanna was

:54:59. > :55:02.finishing a point she was making about the Bill of Rights. I use

:55:03. > :55:10.saying, if something were presented along those lines, what would be the

:55:11. > :55:13.SNP view? -- are you saying. The SNP is wholly opposed to withdrawing

:55:14. > :55:17.from the European Convention on Human Rights, and there is a

:55:18. > :55:23.Scottish angle to this, because it is written into the Scotland Act,

:55:24. > :55:25.they are a devolved matter, so the British and cannot repeal the Human

:55:26. > :55:29.Rights Act and appeal and with a Bill of Rights or withdraw from the

:55:30. > :55:34.convention without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. Nicola

:55:35. > :55:37.Sturgeon has made it clear that would not be forthcoming. There is a

:55:38. > :55:41.cross-party consensus in the Scottish Government, which I believe

:55:42. > :55:45.include some Conservative MSPs, that they do not want Britain to withdraw

:55:46. > :55:49.from the convention, so the Government are going to have a

:55:50. > :55:52.massive fight on their hands across British society, and a Scottish

:55:53. > :55:57.Parliament that will big its heels in and say no, you cannot repeal the

:55:58. > :56:01.Human Rights Act or withdraw from the convention. If the Government

:56:02. > :56:06.are intent on pressing forward, there will be a major constitutional

:56:07. > :56:09.crisis. We should not forget, Huw, that human rights and up in the Good

:56:10. > :56:13.Friday agreement, so it is not just a matter of what Scotland will say,

:56:14. > :56:17.it is a fundamental part of the peace process in Northern Ireland,

:56:18. > :56:22.and it is grossly irresponsible to tamper with such matters. Back to

:56:23. > :56:27.the Royal Gallery, we were about to be in the position where the state

:56:28. > :56:30.trumpeters will be sounding the fanfare. I think we should stay here

:56:31. > :56:34.now, because once that signal is given by the Duke of Norfolk, the

:56:35. > :56:37.Earl Marshal, on the right-hand side, he is the one who will give

:56:38. > :56:44.the signal for the fanfare to be played. Just why we are on these

:56:45. > :56:48.images, it is worth, Laura, a word on what we expect elsewhere in this

:56:49. > :56:52.speech at this point. We have discussed quite a bit about the Bill

:56:53. > :56:56.of Rights and the EU referendum, what else will stand out? The

:56:57. > :57:00.standout is the fact that the Bill of Rights will not be there, we

:57:01. > :57:04.expect another promise of a consultation, but we will see a

:57:05. > :57:07.variety of bills, perhaps not a grand sweeping programme that really

:57:08. > :57:11.stitches together, but a variety of bills that David Cameron will used

:57:12. > :57:15.to try to push forward what he is ease as the second part of his

:57:16. > :57:19.mission in government, if you like. -- what he sees. If you think

:57:20. > :57:27.2010-15 was about sorting out the economy after the crash, he sees his

:57:28. > :57:31.second term as putting forward social reform, so we will see bills

:57:32. > :57:35.about speeding up adoption, tackling extremism, suggestions about how you

:57:36. > :57:39.try to help communities where young people are vulnerable to

:57:40. > :57:43.radicalisation. We will see bills, for example, an academy schools. We

:57:44. > :57:47.have already had a U-turn on the original intention to cause all

:57:48. > :57:51.schools in England to become academies, but there will be an

:57:52. > :57:54.education bill that gives power to the Department for Education. What

:57:55. > :57:58.we will hear from David Cameron, when he eventually gets his turn in

:57:59. > :58:05.the programme of events, will be him trying to stitch together a

:58:06. > :58:08.narrative that says, look, I still have things that I have to say and

:58:09. > :58:11.what to do with my time in office. The procession is about to get under

:58:12. > :58:40.way. FANFARE

:58:41. > :58:46.The 63rd occasion that the Queen has attended this State Opening of

:58:47. > :58:51.Parliament. The Queen who celebrated her 90th birthday on 21st April and

:58:52. > :59:00.of course, her official birthday will be celebrated in June.

:59:01. > :59:05.The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall who first attended the

:59:06. > :59:13.State Opening of Parliament together in 2013.

:59:14. > :59:18.We have the Lord President, Chris Grayling and the Lord Speaker

:59:19. > :59:24.Baroness D'Souza and Michael Gove, Lord Chancellor with the purse that

:59:25. > :59:35.contains the speech and the Marquess of Cholmondeley and the Duke of

:59:36. > :59:57.Norfolk and Baroness Stowell. The paiges doing their work

:59:58. > :00:01.carefully. The Queen passing the great statue

:00:02. > :00:08.of her great, great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. It dominates that

:00:09. > :00:15.room and into the chamber of the House of Lords. What a splendid

:00:16. > :00:19.sight and the chamber completed in 1847 and opened by Queen Victoria in

:00:20. > :00:23.that year. The chairs of state there, having been put in for The

:00:24. > :00:28.Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and the pair of thrones,

:00:29. > :00:31.one slightly elevated for Her Majesty the Queen. The Queen will

:00:32. > :01:07.invite the peers to be seated. The signal, the subtle signal has

:01:08. > :01:12.been given by Her Majesty and received by Lieutenant General David

:01:13. > :01:16.Leakey and Black Rod who now makes his way from the Central Lobby of

:01:17. > :01:22.the Houses of Parliament along that corridor to the members lobby of the

:01:23. > :01:26.House of Commons, a rather more austere design at the other end of

:01:27. > :01:33.the Palace of Westminster. Black Rod's presence being signalled and

:01:34. > :01:37.announced and a wry smile because he knows what is coming up! The door

:01:38. > :01:41.will be slammed. A statement of the independence of the House of

:01:42. > :01:55.Commons. He is the monarch's representative. Close the doors.

:01:56. > :02:04.Black Rod open the doors. Black Rod... It is Black Rod's birthday

:02:05. > :02:08.today, I'm wondering what kind of greeting he will get from Denis

:02:09. > :02:20.Skinner and others in the House of Commons.

:02:21. > :02:31.Mr Speaker, the Queen commands this honourable House to attend Her

:02:32. > :02:49.Majesty immediately in the House of Peers. Hands off the BBC!

:02:50. > :02:54.So there you have Denis Skinner's contribution to the day's events. I

:02:55. > :03:00.probably shouldn't say anything, should I?

:03:01. > :03:07.But there you have Black Rod and the Speaker along with Jeremy Corbyn,

:03:08. > :03:11.his first event, State Opening of Parliament as leader of Her

:03:12. > :03:17.Majesty's loyal opposition. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, having

:03:18. > :03:24.been summoned to the House of Lords to hear the Queen's Speech. Laura,

:03:25. > :03:27.at this point the body long is always rather interesting? Indeed,

:03:28. > :03:30.and trying to guess or lip read the discussions that are actually being

:03:31. > :03:34.had. Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron face each other week after week

:03:35. > :03:38.across the dispatch box at Prime Minister's Questions, but this is

:03:39. > :03:41.one of the few occasions where we see them, look, shoulder-to-shoulder

:03:42. > :03:43.there, it looks like David Cameron is trying to make polite

:03:44. > :03:49.conversation and Jeremy Corbyn is looking the other way!

:03:50. > :03:53.LAUGHTER There is an attempt at conversation,

:03:54. > :03:57.but I suppose these moments are awkward, of course, for politicians

:03:58. > :04:02.who are rivals and opponents. They end up talking about the weather or

:04:03. > :04:07.just how glorious the House of Lords chamber is going to look! We watch

:04:08. > :04:10.them filing through to hear the speech which will, of course, be

:04:11. > :04:14.delivered in the spender of the Lords. One of the things we might

:04:15. > :04:18.hear are suggestions about reforming the House of Lords. Of course. The

:04:19. > :04:23.Government have rather unimpressed as how the Lords have been under

:04:24. > :04:25.active since the election last year, inside the House of Lords, the make

:04:26. > :04:28.up the political parties is very, very different. You have Labour, if

:04:29. > :04:32.they act with the Liberal Democrats, with a majority and they've been

:04:33. > :04:36.able to force particularly a big U-turn on tax credits. So the

:04:37. > :04:39.Government have sort of tried to retaliate by talking about scraping

:04:40. > :04:45.away some of the Lords powers and that might be what we see a Bill on

:04:46. > :04:48.today, but I think there is not much appetite actually for a significant

:04:49. > :04:52.reforms, but it is well worth looking out for as we watch them

:04:53. > :04:56.file through. Into the chamber of the House of Lords led by Black Rod

:04:57. > :05:04.and the Serjeant at Arms and the Speaker and the speak err's chaplain

:05:05. > :05:08.and the Prime Minister and Mr Corbyn arrive and Philip hammedon, John

:05:09. > :05:13.McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, and Angus Robertson of the Scottish

:05:14. > :05:21.National Party. They are ready for the events to get underway. Michael

:05:22. > :05:31.Gove's moment in the spotlight, he will be required to deliver the

:05:32. > :05:33.speech faultlessly to the Queen once the Earl Marshal is happy and she

:05:34. > :05:57.seems to be now. The lord Chancellor safely delivered

:05:58. > :06:11.the speech. The Queen prepares to deliver the Queen's Speech 2016.

:06:12. > :06:16.My Lords and members of the House of Commons. My Government will use the

:06:17. > :06:20.opportunity of a strengthening economy to deliver security for

:06:21. > :06:26.working people, to increase life chances for the most disadvantaged,

:06:27. > :06:31.and to strengthen national defences. My ministers will continue to bring

:06:32. > :06:37.the public finances under control so that Britain lives within its means

:06:38. > :06:43.and to move to a higher wage and lower welfare economy where work is

:06:44. > :06:49.rewarded. To support the economic recovery and to create jobs and more

:06:50. > :06:53.apprenticeships, legislation will be introduced to ensure Britain has the

:06:54. > :07:01.infrastructure that businesses need to grow. Measures will be brought

:07:02. > :07:07.forward to create the right for every household to access high-speed

:07:08. > :07:10.broadband. Legislation will be introduced to improve Britain's

:07:11. > :07:15.competitiveness and make the United Kingdom a world leader in the

:07:16. > :07:22.digital economy. My ministers will ensure that the United Kingdom is at

:07:23. > :07:28.the fore front of technology for new forms of transport including

:07:29. > :07:32.autonomous and electric vehicles. To spread economic prosperity, my

:07:33. > :07:37.Government will continue to support the development of a Northern

:07:38. > :07:44.powerhouse. In England, further powers will be devolved to directly

:07:45. > :07:50.elected mayors. Including powers governing local bus services.

:07:51. > :07:54.Legislation will also allow local authorities to retain business

:07:55. > :08:01.rates, giving them more freedom to invest in local communities. My

:08:02. > :08:05.Government will support aspiration and promote home ownership through

:08:06. > :08:13.its commitment to build one million new homes. Following last week's

:08:14. > :08:18.anticorruption summit in London, legislation will be introduced to

:08:19. > :08:25.tackle corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. My Government will

:08:26. > :08:30.continue work to deliver NHS services over seven days of the week

:08:31. > :08:35.in England. Legislation will be introduced to ensure that overseas

:08:36. > :08:41.visitors pay for the health treatment they receive at public

:08:42. > :08:45.expense. New legislation will be introduced to tackle some of the

:08:46. > :08:52.deepest social problems in society and improve life chances. A Bill

:08:53. > :08:57.will be introduced to ensure that children can be adopted by new

:08:58. > :09:01.families without delay. Improve the standard of social work and

:09:02. > :09:10.opportunities for young people in care in England. To tackle poverty

:09:11. > :09:14.and the causes of deprivation including family instability,

:09:15. > :09:20.addiction, and debt, my Government will introduce new indicators for

:09:21. > :09:26.measuring life chances. Legislation will be introduced to establish a

:09:27. > :09:33.soft drinks industry levy to help tackle childhood obesity. Measures

:09:34. > :09:39.will be introduced to help the lowest income families save through

:09:40. > :09:46.a new help to save scheme and to create a lifetime ISA to help young

:09:47. > :09:51.people save for the long-term. My Government will continue to reform

:09:52. > :09:58.public services so they help the hardest to reach. A Bill will be

:09:59. > :10:02.brought forward to lay foundations for educational excellence in all

:10:03. > :10:08.schools, giving every child the best start in life. There will also be a

:10:09. > :10:14.fairer balance between schools through the national funding

:10:15. > :10:19.formula. To ensure that more people have the opportunity to further

:10:20. > :10:24.their education, legislation will be introduced to support the

:10:25. > :10:28.establishment of new universities and to promote choice and

:10:29. > :10:36.competition across the higher education sector. My Government will

:10:37. > :10:44.legislate to reform prisons and courts. To give individuals a second

:10:45. > :10:49.chance. Prison governors will be given unprecedented freedom and they

:10:50. > :10:56.will be able to ensure prisoners receive better education. Old and

:10:57. > :10:58.inefficient prisons will be closed and new institutions built where

:10:59. > :11:05.prisoners can be put more effectively to work. Action will

:11:06. > :11:08.also be taken to ensure better mental health provision for

:11:09. > :11:16.individuals in the Criminal Justice System. My Government will continue

:11:17. > :11:23.to work to bring communities together and strengthen society.

:11:24. > :11:27.Legislation will be introduced to prevent radicalisation, tackle

:11:28. > :11:33.extremism in all its forms, and promote community integration.

:11:34. > :11:38.National citizens service will be placed on a perm nat statutory

:11:39. > :11:44.footing -- permanent statutory footing. My Government will continue

:11:45. > :11:50.to safeguard national security. My ministers will invest in Britain's

:11:51. > :11:55.armed forces, honouring the military covenant and meeting the Nato

:11:56. > :12:02.commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence. They will also

:12:03. > :12:07.act to secure the long-term future of Britain's nuclear deterrent. My

:12:08. > :12:14.Government will continue to play a leading role in world affairs using

:12:15. > :12:22.its global presence to tackle climate change and address major

:12:23. > :12:26.international security, economic and humanitarian challenges. My

:12:27. > :12:32.Government will continue to work to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. It

:12:33. > :12:37.will play a leading role in the campaign against Daesh and to

:12:38. > :12:43.support international efforts to bring peace to Syria through a

:12:44. > :12:47.lasting political settlement. Britain's commitment on

:12:48. > :12:53.international development spending will also be honoured, helping to

:12:54. > :12:56.deliver global stability, support the sustainable development goals,

:12:57. > :13:06.and prevent new threats to national security. Prince Philip and I look

:13:07. > :13:12.forward to welcoming His Excellency the President of Columbia on a State

:13:13. > :13:17.visit in November. My Government will continue with legislation to

:13:18. > :13:24.modernise the law governing the use and oversight of investigatory

:13:25. > :13:29.powers by law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies.

:13:30. > :13:35.Legislation will strengthen the capability and accountability of the

:13:36. > :13:41.police service in England and Wales. My Government will hold a referendum

:13:42. > :13:49.on membership of the European Union. Proposals will be brought forward

:13:50. > :13:52.for a British Bill of Rights. My ministers will uphold the

:13:53. > :14:00.sovereignty of Parliament and the primacy of the House of Commons. My

:14:01. > :14:04.Government will continue to work in co-operation with the devolved

:14:05. > :14:10.administrations, to implement the extensive new powers in the Scotland

:14:11. > :14:16.Act and establish a strong and lasting devolution settlement in

:14:17. > :14:21.Wales. My Government will work in Northern Ireland to secure further

:14:22. > :14:22.progress in implementing the Stormont House and fresh start

:14:23. > :14:33.agreements. Members of the House of Commons,

:14:34. > :14:38.estimates for the public services will be laid before you. My Lords

:14:39. > :14:42.and Members of the House of Commons, other measures will be laid before

:14:43. > :14:46.you. I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your

:14:47. > :15:10.counsels. So the speech has been delivered,

:15:11. > :15:11.Michael Gove retrieves it, put it back in the purse, and the pages

:15:12. > :15:43.returned to do their work. The Queen and Duke I acknowledge the

:15:44. > :15:47.house of beers, the members of the judiciary, members of the Church,

:15:48. > :15:57.senior Church leaders. -- the house of Peers. And members of the House

:15:58. > :16:00.of Lords, some 790 of them, one of the biggest Parliamentary chambers

:16:01. > :16:08.in the world now, 790 at the last count. Lord Walker, Baroness

:16:09. > :16:20.Stowell. They returned through the Prince's Chamber back into the vast

:16:21. > :16:24.space of the Royal Gallery. This is where so many great events have

:16:25. > :16:27.taken place over the years, including addresses to both Houses

:16:28. > :16:36.of Parliament. President Clinton, Nelson Mandela, president Sarkozy,

:16:37. > :16:42.the list goes on. They often take place in the Royal Gallery,

:16:43. > :16:48.sometimes in Westminster Hall. Baroness D'Souza there, the Lord

:16:49. > :16:53.Speaker, but frame on the left. There will be an election soon to

:16:54. > :16:58.choose her successor as Lord Speaker. The first, Baroness

:16:59. > :17:02.Heymann, was a Labour nominee, Baroness D'Souza is a crossbencher,

:17:03. > :17:06.so we expect a Conservative bigot to be elected this time. The Queen and

:17:07. > :17:11.the attempt to make their way back to the Robing Room before their

:17:12. > :17:20.short journey back to Buckingham Palace. -- the Queen and the Duke.

:17:21. > :17:27.The Queen, who delivered the speech which contained references to, we

:17:28. > :17:29.think, around 21 bills. There are some qualifications there, because

:17:30. > :17:35.some of them are references to things we have heard before, and

:17:36. > :17:38.some of them are draft concepts, but we think 21 solid legislative

:17:39. > :17:40.proposals. And we can discuss those in a moment with my guests in the

:17:41. > :17:50.studio. Back into the Robing Room, where

:17:51. > :17:55.just a few months ago I was privileged to be in there to listen

:17:56. > :18:03.to form a President Carter give a speech on his health initiatives

:18:04. > :18:07.around the world. And here we are at the other end, the Speaker leading

:18:08. > :18:12.his flock back to the House of Commons, because of course this is

:18:13. > :18:15.the start of several days of debate on the content of the Queen's

:18:16. > :18:23.Speech, that Parliamentary tradition. And, traditionally, when

:18:24. > :18:28.the Government defends its plans for the head, and of course the

:18:29. > :18:34.opposition parties can set out their alternatives too. That plans for the

:18:35. > :18:40.year ahead. Boris Johnson making his way back to the Commons, the former

:18:41. > :18:44.Mayor of London. Mr Corbyn, rejoining colleagues on the front

:18:45. > :18:51.bench, the opposition front bench on the left. A couple of friendly

:18:52. > :18:57.exchanges between Tom Watson and the Prime Minister. At least they seem

:18:58. > :19:01.to be friendly! The new Welsh Secretary, Diane Abbott, Boris

:19:02. > :19:06.Johnson as they come back into the lobby, Patrick McLoughlin, Transport

:19:07. > :19:10.Secretary, Sajid Javid, Business Secretary, all coming back now. You

:19:11. > :19:15.do wonder how much they were able to see in the Lords, it is a very

:19:16. > :19:20.restricted space. I am getting lots of knots here in the studio just to

:19:21. > :19:27.say that, yeah, even as a Cabinet minister, you do not see a lot. You

:19:28. > :19:31.don't see very much at all, no. Much better viewing point here, Huw! That

:19:32. > :19:40.is good, I hope you come again! There we have Justine Greening, the

:19:41. > :19:43.international dive -- International Development Secretary. A former

:19:44. > :19:50.colleague of hours, now a Scottish National Party MP there. And quite a

:19:51. > :19:56.few of these members elected last year, so they will be relative

:19:57. > :20:01.novices to the work of the State Opening of Parliament. We caught

:20:02. > :20:06.sight of Hilary Benn earlier. Quite a crowd in the lobby of the House of

:20:07. > :20:15.Lords, there cannot have been any in the chamber itself, no more than 20

:20:16. > :20:20.or 30 there. Angus Robertson of the SNP. And that this point, Laura, I

:20:21. > :20:26.suppose, lots of them reflecting on what the next few weeks are going to

:20:27. > :20:29.bring. Indeed, partly because they may not have heard only things that

:20:30. > :20:33.the Queen listed that the Government will be trying to do, but this is a

:20:34. > :20:36.moment where MPs and some journalists are bringing up the

:20:37. > :20:41.rear, may be reflecting on the curious time that we are in in

:20:42. > :20:44.politics at the moment. While the Queen was speaking, we saw a shot of

:20:45. > :20:50.Boris Johnson peeping over the top of a rather squashed proud, and he,

:20:51. > :20:55.of course, one of the most prominent voices in terms of the out campaign,

:20:56. > :21:00.who is beagle believe was scathingly attacked by Lord Heseltine

:21:01. > :21:06.yesterday, a very ardent supporter of the European Union. -- who some

:21:07. > :21:10.people believe. But we are in very strange waters at the moment, it is

:21:11. > :21:15.unusual that the Queen's Speech feels almost like a sideshow. What a

:21:16. > :21:19.show it is, of course, with all the pomp and ceremony, but a sideshow to

:21:20. > :21:25.the main political debate, no question about that. Two very

:21:26. > :21:28.important areas of reform, there will be lots of view is

:21:29. > :21:31.understandably with a great interest in education reform, what is

:21:32. > :21:36.happening to the academies reform, there seems to be backtracking, and

:21:37. > :21:41.the parallel reform on prisons. So to allow some prisons more freedom,

:21:42. > :21:46.if you like, for governors. In a similar pattern to the academies,

:21:47. > :21:50.the thinking behind that is that you are convinced by the argument for

:21:51. > :21:54.that? What is it meant to achieve? Well, at the moment, we have a

:21:55. > :21:59.situation where almost 50% of prisoners reoffend within one year.

:22:00. > :22:03.I do not think that is acceptable in the 21st century, we need to help

:22:04. > :22:07.people, educate them better in prison. Half of all prisoners do not

:22:08. > :22:12.have any formal qualifications, so this is about giving people a second

:22:13. > :22:16.chance, giving governors the powers over rehabilitation, over education,

:22:17. > :22:22.setting them on the outcomes they achieve, giving them more control of

:22:23. > :22:26.what goes on in their prisons. You mentioned education, I think it is

:22:27. > :22:30.important to say that there was also a very important higher education

:22:31. > :22:34.bill, it will be the biggest reform of universities we have seen for

:22:35. > :22:39.many years, and enabling new universities to open. It is

:22:40. > :22:42.important we get more people the opportunity to go to university, it

:22:43. > :22:49.is an important part of our life chances and gender. In the last

:22:50. > :22:52.session, we put through legislation on apprenticeships. -- life chances

:22:53. > :22:57.and gender. This is about making sure there are more good places

:22:58. > :23:00.available at university, that we see improvement in the quality of

:23:01. > :23:05.teaching at university, that will be very important. Quite a contrast

:23:06. > :23:09.with the arrangement in Scotland. Well, indeed, and I was just

:23:10. > :23:12.thinking there, there is not much point in building and creating more

:23:13. > :23:17.universities if people cannot afford to go, and of course in England

:23:18. > :23:22.people are charged up to ?9,000 per annum in tuition fees. We do not

:23:23. > :23:26.have tuition fees. We're just going to pause, sorry, I will come back to

:23:27. > :23:30.you, but this is the moment when the Queen is banking some of those who

:23:31. > :23:37.have taken part, the head of the Armed Forces. -- thanking. They

:23:38. > :23:42.include today the chief RBS staff, the second Sea Lord, the Chief of

:23:43. > :23:53.the General Staff. -- the Chief of the Air Staff. They are all there

:23:54. > :23:57.being thanked, and thanking the Queen for today's events. Lots of

:23:58. > :24:02.broad smiles, I would love to listen to that exchange between the Duke of

:24:03. > :24:08.Edinburgh and Michael Gove! That seemed to yield a few smiles on each

:24:09. > :24:13.side. And Baroness Stowell, the Leader of the House of Lords, just

:24:14. > :24:18.adding there, then Chris Grayling, the Lord President, the Leader of

:24:19. > :24:21.the House of Lords, a former Lord Chancellor. He has been in the role

:24:22. > :24:26.before that and Michael Gove is in today. We can just see Baroness

:24:27. > :24:30.D'Souza, to the left of Chris Grayling, in the last occasion that

:24:31. > :24:36.she will take part in this State Opening as lords Speaker. Hopefully,

:24:37. > :24:43.that has been Rabada Don too. So this is the scene in the Norman

:24:44. > :24:47.Porch. -- hopefully that has been remarked on too. Just outside the

:24:48. > :24:53.Robing Room, Michael Gove acknowledging Her Majesty's thanks,

:24:54. > :24:56.then a fair bet that the Queen will leave the palace in the way that she

:24:57. > :25:01.came, not using the staircase but easier means, as Buckingham Palace

:25:02. > :25:10.said to us earlier, for her own comfort and convenience. Quite

:25:11. > :25:17.chatty today, having a little conversation about events. The Duke

:25:18. > :25:20.and the Queen joining the conversation with some of the main

:25:21. > :25:25.parties, the Marquess of Cholmondeley gently trying to

:25:26. > :25:27.encourage them back towards the entrance to that little lift on the

:25:28. > :25:54.left-hand side. So just a moment to chat and maybe

:25:55. > :25:59.reflect on the events, then, of the day now that the the Queen and the

:26:00. > :26:01.Duke have left, I think the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

:26:02. > :26:08.are still in the Robing Room. This is the scene at the base of the

:26:09. > :26:13.Victoria Tower, with the heralds waiting for the Queen's departure.

:26:14. > :26:20.The carriage, of course, is normally parked, it comes to a rest right

:26:21. > :26:24.here, where we have the grey horses today, but it has just stopped ten

:26:25. > :26:29.or 20 yards inside the palace itself. But if you look outside, I

:26:30. > :26:34.am going to share a very badly kept secret, which is that it is very wet

:26:35. > :26:37.here at Westminster, it is raining very heavily! And the glistening

:26:38. > :26:42.streets around the Palace of Westminster will tell you that. But

:26:43. > :26:45.even in the rain, the Palace of Westminster is such a magnificent

:26:46. > :26:50.building, isn't it? It is a royal palace, don't forget, still very

:26:51. > :26:54.much a royal palace, but it is also the meeting place of two Houses of

:26:55. > :27:01.Parliament, so it combines some important functions. And there we

:27:02. > :27:04.have a good perspective all the way from College Green at the bottom of

:27:05. > :27:11.the frame there, past the Sovereign's Escort, the Life Guards,

:27:12. > :27:14.the Blues and Royals, waiting for the Queen's departure, past St

:27:15. > :27:20.Stephens, the main entrance to the Commons, all the way up Whitehall

:27:21. > :27:22.and back to the palace via Horse Guards Parade.

:27:23. > :28:45.FANFARE The Guard of Honour at House of

:28:46. > :28:49.Lords provided by the 1st Battalion Irish Guards with the Queen's colour

:28:50. > :28:56.and the band of the regiment and pipes of the battalion led by major

:28:57. > :29:00.Bruce Millar, we have The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

:29:01. > :29:06.ready to leave by the traditional route, using the Royal Staircase

:29:07. > :29:12.with the dismowned detachment of the Household Cavalry. Lots of them on

:29:13. > :29:21.their first big ceremonial duty. The youngest of them is 17. Still there

:29:22. > :29:35.providing that Guard of Honour on the staircase. Prince of Wales in

:29:36. > :30:03.full naval dress uniform as admiral of the fleet.

:30:04. > :30:11.And back into the Irish State coach which the Prince of Wales and the

:30:12. > :30:18.Duchess of Cornwall are using today. The coach originally built in 1851

:30:19. > :30:24.for the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Queen Victoria visited there and fancied

:30:25. > :30:26.it and bought it. It was rebuilt in 1988 and 1989 and driven from the

:30:27. > :30:45.box seat using two horses today. Big Ben sounding midday as The

:30:46. > :30:56.Prince of Wales leaves the Palace of Westminster. And the Life Guards

:30:57. > :30:58.travelling escort accompanying The Prince of Wales and the duchess back

:30:59. > :31:34.to Buckingham Palace. We are back in the Royal Gallery

:31:35. > :31:38.because we are completing now the formal part, the end of this State

:31:39. > :31:45.Opening because the imperial state Crown is now being carefully taken

:31:46. > :31:50.back from the Royal Gallery. This great symbol of the sovereign's

:31:51. > :31:54.authority being taken back to the Regalia Room, ready for the journey

:31:55. > :32:24.back to the Palace. Rney back to the Palace. The Crown

:32:25. > :32:31.Jeweller, as always, in attendance. Black Rod is there ready to make

:32:32. > :32:39.sure that everything is in order for Andrew Ford and his colleagues to

:32:40. > :32:44.take the Crown away from the Palace. This Crown, which is seen at the

:32:45. > :32:53.State Opening and at coronations only. To it's rarely seen. It is

:32:54. > :33:00.used at the State Opening of Parliament and at coronations and

:33:01. > :33:07.when it is worn after the monarch has been crowned.

:33:08. > :33:13.It is always worth remembering when we see this Crown that we often get

:33:14. > :33:19.questions from viewers. It is set with 3,000 precious stones. It is

:33:20. > :33:25.quite literally priceless. And as I said, it was made in 1937, this one

:33:26. > :33:30.for George VI. It is a replica of the Crown made for Queen Victoria in

:33:31. > :33:40.1838. The stones were transferred to the Crown made for George VI. And it

:33:41. > :33:52.was remodelled for Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation. Andrew Ford

:33:53. > :33:58.takes his place in the Queen Alexandra State Coach which is the

:33:59. > :34:08.coach used for the regalia and its escort. The Crown Jeweller now hands

:34:09. > :34:12.the Imperial State Crown to Andrew Ford and his colleagues inside the

:34:13. > :34:17.coach. This is a much more modest coach. We were talking about the

:34:18. > :34:23.Irish State Coach earlier. This is a coach built in 1865 for the Princess

:34:24. > :34:28.of Wales, later Queen Alexandra. It is much more modest in appearance

:34:29. > :34:31.than some of the others we have seen, including the Diamond Jubilee

:34:32. > :34:40.State Coach that we saw the Queen and the Duke using earlier. So

:34:41. > :34:46.Andrew Ford, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon looking after the Cap

:34:47. > :34:51.of Maintenance. All safely tucked inside and ready to leave the

:34:52. > :35:11.Sovereign's Escort at the end of this State Opening.

:35:12. > :35:21.And out on to the wet streets of Westminster. The weather, I think,

:35:22. > :35:25.accounting for the fact that there are far fewer people crowding around

:35:26. > :35:29.the palace to look at the sights, but there are quite a few people on

:35:30. > :35:35.Parliament Square and Whitehall who have turned out to see what is all a

:35:36. > :35:42.great spectacle on State Opening Day. And the Queen's coachmen and

:35:43. > :35:48.the staff at the Royal Mews, having done their work very well, as they

:35:49. > :35:51.always do, because these carriages and coaches aren't gLeusing, they

:35:52. > :35:55.are in superb condition. We have a very good view of the Crown and the

:35:56. > :36:05.Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State on their way back. Let's come

:36:06. > :36:08.back into the studio. We have got a rather good view of the things that

:36:09. > :36:11.are going on, but we've, I think, the rain is just about holding off

:36:12. > :36:15.for the moment. A quick thought from each of you at this point because

:36:16. > :36:19.we're battling against the clock and I want to join Vicki again in the

:36:20. > :36:23.Central Lobby. A quick thought on what you think will be dominating

:36:24. > :36:28.people's timetables now? What David Cameron wants this appear, as his

:36:29. > :36:32.big moment where he is pushing forward the life chances agenda. He

:36:33. > :36:35.made a series of speeches in the last year or so and these are the

:36:36. > :36:40.promised laws coming forward to as he sees it, to try to help people

:36:41. > :36:42.who politics have forgotten for a long time. What he doesn't want

:36:43. > :36:46.people to talk about is the fact there is a promise of a British Bill

:36:47. > :36:49.of Rights, hardly any mention of the Sovereignty Bill that was promised.

:36:50. > :36:53.Something very, very weak in terms of that speech. Most people are

:36:54. > :36:58.still after today going to be focussing on the referendum. Well,

:36:59. > :37:00.the referendum is clearly an extremely important issue. We are in

:37:01. > :37:05.the final months of the campaign, but after that, you know, we have a

:37:06. > :37:08.massive agenda to deliver. There are some very important Bills here

:37:09. > :37:12.today. I think the Higher Education Bill is extremely important. It is

:37:13. > :37:16.the first one of that magnitude for 20 years. It will have a major

:37:17. > :37:19.impact getting more young people to university, improving the quality of

:37:20. > :37:23.teaching in university and the prison Reform Bill is very

:37:24. > :37:28.important. You know, we don't have a good enough record in terms of when

:37:29. > :37:32.prisoners leave prison, getting them back into society and getting them

:37:33. > :37:35.back on track. The life chances agenda is incredibly important

:37:36. > :37:40.because we want to help people get on at every stage in their lives?

:37:41. > :37:42.Lucy? Well, most people in my part of the world in Manchester would

:37:43. > :37:46.laugh in the Prime Minister's face at the thought he had a life chances

:37:47. > :37:49.strategy when everything that he has done over the last six years has

:37:50. > :37:53.made their lives harder and harder. We have seen the most deprived

:37:54. > :37:58.communities facing the biggest brunt when it comes to austerity. We have

:37:59. > :38:03.seen education now in chaos. Families being pushed into crisis by

:38:04. > :38:07.the taking away of the support from which they rely upon and you know,

:38:08. > :38:11.so I really think that you know they can talk about life chances as he

:38:12. > :38:15.does very often and he gives these big speeches, but the reality of

:38:16. > :38:19.what is happening on the ground to social work, to education, to

:38:20. > :38:23.health, to tax credits, to all these things that families we lie on are

:38:24. > :38:26.disappearing at a fast rate and the Government haven't got an answer to

:38:27. > :38:32.that. Thank you very much Joanna. A quick comment. Very under whelmed by

:38:33. > :38:35.this, Huw, it is a rag bag of proposal that Michael Gove brought

:38:36. > :38:38.out of the purse to give to Her Majesty. Much is recycled from last

:38:39. > :38:40.year. They are talking about strengthening the economy and

:38:41. > :38:44.bringing public finances uncontrol, but the fact remains they have

:38:45. > :38:48.missed many of their own targets and they are failing on key economic

:38:49. > :38:53.indicators. Among the opulence and splendour, there are many people

:38:54. > :38:56.across British society who are struggling to make ends meet. I

:38:57. > :38:59.don't hear anything in the Queen's Speech. Help for low income

:39:00. > :39:03.families. Many low income families have no hope of saving. They

:39:04. > :39:07.struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis. The sort of thing we in the

:39:08. > :39:11.SNP would like to see is real help for low income families, restoring

:39:12. > :39:14.work allowances and giving them proper support, the sort of things

:39:15. > :39:17.that should be in a Queen's Speech like this, but are just missing

:39:18. > :39:21.because the Government's eye is completely off the ball. Thank you

:39:22. > :39:24.very much. I would like to get more reaction, let's rejoin Vicki in the

:39:25. > :39:28.Central Lobby. Yes, the ceremonial side of things is over. The

:39:29. > :39:31.politicians take centre stage again. Let's hear what they made of

:39:32. > :39:36.everything that we've heard today. I'm joined by Alistair Carmichael

:39:37. > :39:45.from the Liberal Democrats and Jeffrey Donaldson from the unionist

:39:46. > :39:52.party? The tre markable thing about the Queen's Speech is just how

:39:53. > :39:56.little is new here. We reckon 28 of the 30 measures announced today have

:39:57. > :39:59.been announced before. They are only two new announcements today. A year

:40:00. > :40:03.ago, the Government were elected telling us they would focus on the

:40:04. > :40:06.economy, now it is pretty clear they have turned inwards the focus of

:40:07. > :40:10.everything is on managing the Conservative Party as they risk

:40:11. > :40:13.tearing themselves apart ahead of the EU referendum. That's the real

:40:14. > :40:17.message from the Queen's Speech today. They have taken their eye off

:40:18. > :40:20.the ball. Jeffrey Donaldson, do you think the EU referendum is

:40:21. > :40:24.dominating, but do you think that the Government has run out of steam,

:40:25. > :40:28.or do you see some measures that you like Well, there are some measures

:40:29. > :40:34.that we welcome and we will examine them closely and we will be looking

:40:35. > :40:37.towards the implement aches of the Stormont House agreement, they are

:40:38. > :40:41.vital in moving the peace process forward in Northern Ireland. In that

:40:42. > :40:44.sense, it is an important Queen's Speech for Northern Ireland and it

:40:45. > :40:49.will see some important legislation for the Province. The Prime Minister

:40:50. > :40:52.talked about measures to help the disadvantaged in society, is that

:40:53. > :40:58.something that appeals to Plaid Cymru? There is plenty of work to be

:40:59. > :41:02.done and there is something about measuring poverty or life chances

:41:03. > :41:05.whatever way you want to term it. That will be interesting to see how

:41:06. > :41:10.that works out. We are looking forward to a new Wales Bill. Yet

:41:11. > :41:13.another shot at getting the devolution settlement in Wales right

:41:14. > :41:17.and hopefully that can come forward fairly soon. Gentlemen, thank you

:41:18. > :41:20.very much indeed for your reaction. There will be a debate in the House

:41:21. > :41:23.of Commons starting in the next couple of hours.

:41:24. > :41:28.Vicki, thank you very much. Thanks to the guests in Central Lobby.

:41:29. > :41:32.Laura, when we see headlines on the Queen's Speech, we have discussed

:41:33. > :41:35.the context, what will people be honing in on? Prison reform

:41:36. > :41:39.particularly is something that people will look at closely, but

:41:40. > :41:42.that as this Government found continually in the last Parliament

:41:43. > :41:45.as in this one, it is one thing coming forward with the ideas of

:41:46. > :41:48.reform and ideas of grand rhetoric, but the reality is for many people,

:41:49. > :41:53.the Government departments and people around the country are having

:41:54. > :41:56.of having to manage in a time of budget cults. That was the theme of

:41:57. > :42:00.the first Parliament, but it is the case now. In terms of today,

:42:01. > :42:04.clearly, I think, the headlines will probably still be about what was not

:42:05. > :42:08.in it, no Sovereignty Bill, a vague sort of promise about a Bill of

:42:09. > :42:12.Rights and that's are the product of the wider backdrop which is the

:42:13. > :42:17.debate over the European Union. Just on that final point, just to tie

:42:18. > :42:20.this up today, we have been concentrating today really on a long

:42:21. > :42:23.list of Bills while trying to acknowledge the fact there is a big

:42:24. > :42:27.story out there, which is not part of the speech, you know, how will

:42:28. > :42:30.they balance those things, how do you juggle those things in terms of

:42:31. > :42:36.the coverage? Well, I think it is very difficult for the Government.

:42:37. > :42:41.They are trying to multitask when right at top of the Government

:42:42. > :42:43.people are preoccupied by the European referendum because their

:42:44. > :42:47.jobs depend on T the Government depends on it. There is a real risk,

:42:48. > :42:51.as we started at the beginning, if the referendum is lost by Downing

:42:52. > :42:56.Street, if they don't win, there is a chance that David Cameron might

:42:57. > :43:00.not be the Prime Minister in six or seven weeks time. The expectation is

:43:01. > :43:04.not that will happen, but that's where their focus is, because the

:43:05. > :43:10.risks are very big for them and they know it. Laura thank you and thanks

:43:11. > :43:13.to my guests. That's it for today. Coverage will continue on the BBC

:43:14. > :43:19.News Channel and on BBC Parliament and in this year of the Queen's's

:43:20. > :43:21.90th birthday, we will leave you with memorable images of the State

:43:22. > :43:24.Opening Parliament over the years of her reign. From all of the team here

:43:25. > :44:14.at Westminster, thank you for watching and goodbye.

:44:15. > :44:22.The referendum on whether we should remain within the European Union

:44:23. > :44:26.of what has happened to British national sovereignty.