Brexit statis puts Queen’s Speech in limbo

Theresa May could be forced to delay the start of a new session of Parliament because she cannot get her Brexit deal through the Commons, Downing Street has conceded.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was unable to confirm if a Queen’s Speech would take place in June, despite the current two-year session of Parliament already on course to be the longest of the postwar period.

The government fears introducing the last major piece of legislation remaining in the current session – a bill to implement Brexit – because it would be likely to be defeated by MPS.

Reports suggest a series of minor bills are being prepared to “pad out” the parliamentary timetable and justify a delay to the Queen’s Speech.

Another round of Brexit talks were held between senior Labour figures and Conservative ministers yesterday afternoon, without a breakthrough to secure a deal.

The meeting involved five Cabinet ministers including Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, Chancellor Philip Hammond and Mrs May’s deputy David Lidington, as well as the chief whip, but there is little sign of any urgency on the Labour side ahead of crucial local elections in England on Thursday.

Government sources indicate that without a deal by the end of the week, participation in next month’s EU elections cannot be avoided. Scottish Secretary David Mundell said on Sunday that despite ministers being desperate to avoid the vote on 23 May, it had become “inevitable”.