Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken to Her Majesty The Queen to request an end to the current parliamentary session in the second sitting week in September. The second session of this Parliament will start with a Queen’s Speech on Monday, October 14.
The PM said: “We must focus on crucial public priorities – helping the NHS, fighting violent crime, investing in infrastructure and science and cutting the cost of living. We have made an important start – funding for 20,000 extra police officers and new investment in our NHS – but to deliver on the public’s priorities we require a new session and a Queen’s Speech.
“I believe it is vital that Parliament is sitting both before and after European Council and if, as I hope, a deal with the EU is forthcoming, Parliament will then have the opportunity to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill required for ratification ahead of October 31.”
For Labour, leader Jeremy Corbyn called it ‘an outrage and a threat to our democracy’.
On the Conservatives’ new legislative programme, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“The Government’s commitment to fighting violent crime is encouraging. Shopworkers are having to endure increasing levels of abuse and violence. We want to see the creation of a specific criminal offence to protect retail employees from assault at work, as has been done for emergency workers.”
