Jacob Rees Mogg writes:

On Tuesday the Queen joined her Parliament for the State Opening. Coming just over a month since the death of Prince Phillip, it was the largest in person public event that Her Majesty has been involved in this year and is symbolic not only of the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions but also of the year in Parliament to come.

This is the 67th Parliament during the Queen'slong reign which, unlike her predecessor Queen Victoria, she has normally opened in person. It was a scaled back affair,owing to Covid-19restrictions,without the traditional donning of theImperialState Crown and robes that many are used to when tuning in to the event on television. Theserestrictions meant that only the Speaker,invited party leaders andGovernment andOppositionWhipsprocessed from the Commonsto hear the speech delivered in the Lords. I was rather lucky to have a place in the Queen's procession in my role as Lord President of the Council.

The Government legislative plan read out by the Queen was, in contrast, wide reaching and bold. The Queen stated that her Government would "deliver a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the United Kingdom stronger, healthier and more prosperous than before." The Government will "strengthen the economic ties across the union, investing in and improving national infrastructure."The speechnot only addressedthe legacies of the pandemic, butalso set out how the Government will gofurther to unite and level up the country, spreading opportunity across the country as we build back better.

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