U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday set out what he described as the most “radical” legislative agenda in a generation — zeroing in on how he intends to deliver key promises on everything from Brexit to health care.
The government’s agenda for the year was laid out in the Queen’s Speech, delivered in the House of Lords by Queen Elizabeth II at the state opening of Parliament. It then moves to debate and eventual symbolic vote in the House of Commons.
“We have no time to waste and we begin immediately with the most radical Queen’s Speech in a generation to deliver on the priorities of the British people,” Johnson said in the foreword to the speech.
It comes a week after Johnson’s Conservative Party stormed to an 80-seat House of Commons majority in a general election that exceeded Tory expectations and gives the prime minister a clear mandate to get his agenda through Parliament.
The top priority was Britain’s departure from the European Union, having run on the slogan “Get Brexit Done.” The government intends to pass Johnson’s withdrawal bill — negotiated with the E.U. — before the end of January, and announced Thursday that the new version of the bill means that a post-Brexit transition period must end by the end of 2020.
On the question of immigration, which shadowed the Brexit issue, the Johnson government intends to introduce an Australian-style points system that it says will prioritize high-skilled immigrants who speak English and who don’t have criminal records.
It will also introduce a fast-track visa system to encourage doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to come to the U.K., as part of an effort to combat a staff shortage in the country’s struggling National Health Service.
