Queen's speech delayed by two days, Commons leader confirms

Even before a pact has been agreed with the Democratic Unionist Party to allow the Conservative party to form a minority government, newly appointed Commons leader Andrea Leadsom announced that the Queen’s speech will take place only two days later than originally scheduled.

The Queen’s Speech had been scheduled to mark the state opening of parliament next Monday.

Talks over a potential agreement between Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party and Northern Ireland's DUP have stumbled this week, leading commentators to suggest the announcement was intended as a message that the Tories are prepared to form a minority government without a deal if the talks break down.

After losing its parliamentary majority in last week's election, the Conservatives have been looking to combine their 318 seats in the Commons with the DUP's 10 seats in order to pass the 326 needed for a majority, using a vote-by-vote "confidence and supply" agreement.

But the Treasury has reportedly dug in its heels against the costs of a deal, amid calls from some ministers to call the Northern Irish party’s bluff but from other senior sources that May has few other options.

The Queen's speech, which contains the government's legislative programme for the coming year, will be debated by MPs for seven days.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to try and defeat the government by voting down the speech, but because Sinn Fein’s seven MPs refuse to take their seats and the DUP have refused to back Corbyn due to his support for their loathed rivals of Sinn Fein, even all the other parties combined still cannot outvote the Tories.