LONDON -- A referendum on the EU by the end of 2017 and the introduction of the Investigatory Powers Bill, giving police greater powers to target online communications, were among the measures proposed during the Queen's Speech Wednesday.
The package of proposals, which was prepared by ministers and read out by the Queen, also included more devolution for Scotland, a ban on legal highs and a halt on income tax raises for five years.
The Queen's Speech marks the opening of parliament and sees the ruling government lay out the laws it hopes to get approved over the coming year. Wednesday's occasion was the first Conservative-only speech in nearly two decades and saw the party, with a small majority, enjoying more freedom than they had during the Lib Dem coalition.
"My government will legislate in the interests of everyone in the country," the Queen said, reading the speech prepared by the government. "It will adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration, giving new opportunities to the disadvantaged and bringing different parts of our country together."
Some were more excited than others about the prospect of new laws. One person fell asleep in the chamber ahead of the speech while UKIP MP Douglas Carswell took it on himself to Periscope the arrivals.
One guest in the Lords chamber is already asleep waiting for the Queen to show up. Excitement all got too much for him.— Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) May 27, 2015
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What is the Queen's Speech?
The Queen's Speech is essentially a list of laws that the current government is hoping to get approved by Parliament over the coming year. It's written by ministers and delivered by the Queen in front of MPs, peers and dignitaries in the House of Lords and marks the start of the parliamentary year. The tradition has roots right back to the 16th century.
The whole thing is bookended with the usual pomp and circumstance you'd expect from a confluence of royalty and parliament, as the monarch travels from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, gets robed up and picks up the parchment, yes parchment, before heading into Lords to deliver the speech.
Before that, though, the Yeoman of the Guard have to search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament, in case there's any modern day Guy Fawkes lurking beneath.
This is the 62nd time Queen Elizabeth has delivered the speech in person, only skipping 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant.
What featured in this year's speech?
David Cameron promised he wouldn't "waste a single moment" in delivering his manifesto promises following the Conservative victory at the general election. His 26-bill package was a "programme for working people" to create full employment and "bring our country together."
The proposed measures included:
An EU referendum by the end of 2017
An Investigatory Powers Bill giving police and spies powers to "target the online communications" of suspected terrorists
Further Scottish devolution and English votes for English laws
No increases on income tax, VAT and national insurance for five years
An extension of the right-to-buy scheme to over a million social housing tenants in England
A cut in maximum benefits per household from £26,000 to £23,000
A ban on legal highs with prison sentences for up to seven years for trading substances
A seven day NHS by 2020
A Trade Unions Bill, requiring a 50% turnout threshold on strike ballots
Plans to scrap the Humans Rights Act have been shelved for now, in favour of proposals for a Bill of Rights as a replacement.
What does the opposition think?
Cameron described the programme as "the bold first step of a one nation government," working towards creating a country whose people could "get a decent job, have a good education, buy a home of your own, have dignity when you retire and feel safe and secure throughout your life."
However, Harriet Harman has said that the Conservatives wanted to "set the nations of the country against each other" and threaten "basic rights at work".
Not much in the way of chat between David Cameron and Harriet Harman pic.twitter.com/oSFXYG28MP— Nick Eardley (@nickeardley) May 27, 2015