Queen’s Speech and State Opening of Parliament: 19 December 2019

The State Opening of Parliament on Thursday 19 December marks the start of the parliamentary year and the Queen’s Speech sets out the government’s agenda. Parliamentary year A ‘parliament’ runs from one general election to the next. It is broken up into sessions which run for about a year – the ‘parliamentary year’. State Opening takes place on the first day of a new session. Queen’s Speech The Queen’s Speech marks the formal start to the year. Neither House can conduct any business until after it has b