Full coverage of the Queen’s Speech, Brexit latest and the SNP Conference
Boris Johnson has used the Queen’s Speech to rebuff Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for a second independence referendum, with a Downing Street source dismissing it as a “dead cat” attempt to distract from the SNP’S domestic record.
On the eve of the First Minister’s speech to the SNP conference in Aberdeen, the Queen’s ceremonial address to open the new session of Parliament included a commitment that “the integrity and prosperity of the Union that binds the four nations of the United Kingdom is of the utmost importance”.
A No 10 spokesman criticised the SNP for having “no intention of honouring their word when they said it was a once-in-a-generation matter”, adding: “We cannot support another independence referendum”.
A Downing Street source added that demands for a second referendum on Scotland’s future was a “dead cat that is running out of lives”.
Mr Johnson said yesterday’s programme for government of 23 bills was a “vision of an open, global, free-trading United Kingdom” that would create a “new age of opportunity for the whole country”.
Addressing parliamentarians from both Houses in the Lords, the Queen set out plans for a series of Brexit-related bills, starting with legislation to implement an exit deal that has yet to be agreed with the EU, three days before a crucial Brussels summit.
The Government said it will also introduce long-awaited bills on agriculture, fisheries and trade, as well as an Immigration Bill to implement an Australian-style points-based system that will replace EU free movement of people. It also set out plans for a series of reforms to the NHS and criminal justice in England.
But the Queen’s Speech was branded a “stunt” by opposition parties, with the Government’s lack of a majority and the likelihood of a snap election meaning little if any of the legislation could become law.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there had “never been such a farce as a Government with a majority of -45 and a 100 per cent record of defeat in the House of Commons setting out a legislative agenda they know cannot be delivered in this Parliament”.
Adding to speculation that Labour will back an election once a Brexit delay has been secured, Mr Corbyn claimed: “We may only be just weeks away from the first Queen’s Speech of a Labour government”. He said Labour would “let the people decide on Brexit” and “build an economy that works for all”. Mr Johnson hit back by criticising the Labour leader over his position on Brexit, saying: “His policy on cake is neither having it nor eating it.”
The Prime Minister told the Commons: “As we prepare to get Brexit done by October 31, we are setting out now our vision of an open, global, freetrading United Kingdom.
“A high-wage, low-tax economy with the highest environmental standards, new protections for animal welfare, the best place to invest, the best place to start a business, the best place to start a family and send your kids to school.
“Without being chauvinistic or disrespectful to anywhere else in the world, in important respects this country is the greatest place to live in the world.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford branded Mr Johnson an “egotist” and claimed his rhetoric was “straight out of the Trump playbook”.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said none of the spending commitments were credible because it is “predicated on the UK leaving the EU in just over two weeks, and analysis after analysis shows this will leave a massive hole in the public finances”.
Downing Street insisted Mr Johnson will not resign if the Queen’s Speech is voted down by MPS, and said all the bills set out in the programme for government will be introduced.
“If MPS do choose to vote against the Queen’s Speech, it will be for them to explain to the public why they are voting against greater support for our public services, including police, schools and hospitals.”