Queen returns to public stage detailing govt’s new agenda
Queen Elizabeth II opened a new session of parliament yesterday, in her first public appearance since the funeral of her late husband Prince Philip, as she revealed the Conservative government’s post-pandemic legislative agenda. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, buoyant after his party’s triumph in local and regional elections in England last week, is vowing to deliver on his mantra to “build back better” with a wide-ranging raft of policies.
But he faces renewed questions over the UK’s cohesion after pro-independence forces won a majority in elections to the Scottish parliament with pledges to hold another referendum on breaking away from the centuries-old union. Johnson’s government, after rolling out a successful coronavirus vaccination drive, is intent on reopening the economy and refocusing on long-term promises to “level up” prosperity across Britain.
“My government’s priority is to deliver a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the United Kingdom stronger, healthier and more prosperous than before,” the 95-year-old monarch said in a speech from a gilded throne in the upper House of Lords.
Borders focus
The Queen said the government would introduce an environment bill to set legally binding emissions targets as Britain prepares to host the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. A “counter-state threats bill”, meanwhile, will provide the security services with tools to tackle hostile activity by foreign states and foreign actors.
New measures will also aim to strengthen Britain’s borders and deter “criminals who facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys”, after rising numbers of asylum-seekers coming on boats across the Channel from France. Tightening immigration rules and securing borders were vote-winning promises of Johnson’s campaign for leaving the European Union in Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, as well as in securing his thumping 2019 election win.
But by differentiating between asylumseekers who enter by legal channels and those who enter Britain from “safe” destinations like France, the government has provoked anger among refugee groups. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said the proposals could breach international law and be “expensive and hard to implement”.