Queen's Speech To Set Out Legislative Agenda; Economy, NI Protocol In Focus

At around 1130BST (0630ET, 1230CET) HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, will deliver the Queen's speech at the state opening of parliament. The speech will outline the legislative agenda of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's gov't over the coming session. HM Queen Elizabeth II will miss the speech for the first time since 1963, with Buckingham Palace citing 'episodic mobility issues' being experienced by the 96-year old monarch.

• Market focus will be trained on two likely areas of the speeech. The first, the gov'ts efforts to boost the economy amidst rising inflation. Second is any potential legislation related to the Northern Ireland protocol within the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
• The gov't is not expected to put forward any specific bill related to easing the impact of inflationary pressures on households. Instead, focus will be on infrastructure and the broader 'levelling-up' theme frequently talked about by ministers. A Levelling up and Regeneration Bill would seek to make new housebuilding easier, but could face backbench Conservative opposition. The Economic Crime Bill would boost investigatory powers of Companies House, and is likely to find support amidst current public antipathy towards London's percieved role in managing the finances of Russian oligarchs.
• On the NI Protocol, no specific legislation allowing the gov't to rip up the protocol is expected. However, there is expected to be language around supporting the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and further legislation could be introduced at a later date.
• Following his party's poor performance in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson tweeted this morning that 'decisive action" on the protocol would be required before his party would consent to nominating a new power-sharing executive (devolved gov't) in Belfast.