Time to put Britain before petty politics

TODAY’S Queen’s Speech will set out the Government’s legislative priorities for the next session of Parliament – as usual.

Everything else about it is so unusual as to be unparalleled in the modern age.

To begin with, it brings the curtain down on the longest Parliamentary session since the English Civil War. Theresa May kept extending it in the hope of winning a Brexit deal – a hope that was cruelly dashed, along with her political career.

Secondly, whatever the speech contains, it is overwhelmingly likely to be voted down in the Commons, something that hasn’t happened since 1924.

This isn’t primarily because the opposition parties object to any particular part of it.

It’s because they are so consumed with bitterness and animosity against Boris Johnson and his bid to ‘get Brexit done’ that they would pig-headedly oppose anything he said.

Then there’s the unprecedented and tortuous legal backdrop. Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Johnson gave unlawful advice to the Queen when he first asked her to prorogue Parliament.

She could be forgiven for raising an eyebrow, as he’s now asking her to take part in something of a charade.

This is not so much a Queen’s Speech as an election manifesto, setting out Mr Johnson’s hustings blueprint for Britain.

It is an avowedly post-austerity package, pledging extra cash for law and order, education, the NHS, and various other public services. It promises reform of social care, measures to reduce plastic pollution and a revamp of the rail franchise system.

These are all areas of deep concern to voters and would be widely welcomed. But the truth is he can only implement them if he wins a majority in the next general election. And the key to that is delivering Brexit. As he lays out his platform, we also have a chilling foretaste of Labour’s prospectus.

According to the Confederation of British Industry, their renationalisation plans alone would cost nearly £200billion, tipping the national debt over £2trillion and costing £2billion a year in repayment costs alone.

Add that to their other class-war tax and spend fantasies and you have a recipe for economic disaster.

The second referendum campaigners, too, offer only stagnation and indecision. It would take at least six months to organise and serve only to widen existing divisions.

Most of all, the Queen’s Speech will remind us of all the things – vital things – the Government could be doing if MPs would stop their posturing and resolve to break the Brexit deadlock.

On Saturday, they may well be asked to vote on a new withdrawal agreement between the UK and Brussels. If they have any patriotic feeling, they will back it and allow the country finally to move on.

Business needs this deal. Their constituents need it. Above all, our ailing democracy needs it.