Today the House of Commons convened for the first time since the General Election. The first few days of a new parliament are dominated by administrative and procedural matters, such as electing a new Speaker of the House of Commons. On this occasion, it was a fairly straightforward matter, as we appointed Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who had been elected Speaker just before the General Election.
There is also a lot of tradition observed, as much of the ceremony dates back many centuries. This includes the requirement of every Member of Parliament to swear the oath of allegiance. Only then, can they speak and vote in the House of Commons. It takes a long time to get through 650 individual members swearing this oath allegiance, but once done we will concentrate on the Queen's Speech on Thursday. This will set out the government's legislative programme for the session ahead. Friday will see the return of the EU Withdrawal Bill, paving the way for our departure from the European Union on 31st January. We said we would get Brexit done, and that is exactly what is happening.