Although the speech is told formally by the Queen, it is written by the government. This is one of those rare occasions when she is seated on the throne wearing the Crown Jewels while performing a duty. As part of the ceremony, the Yeomen of the Guard searched the cellars of the Palace of Westminster prior to the State Opening of Parliament, a tradition that dates back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament.
The speech focused on all the important bills the parliament will discuss this session. The Queen emphasized that tackling the economic crisis is a cardinal responsibility for the government in the coming year. Altogether 12 new bills were mentioned in the speech including the new Banking Bill, the Citizenship, Immigration and Border Bill, the Welfare Reform Bill and the Policing and Crime Bill. The Banking Bill will help ensure financial stability. The new Immigrant Bill specifies that the immigration process take into account the behaviour of the immigrant, for example, it will slow the procedure “if immigrants don’t make an effort to integrate, or commit even minor crimes.” The Welfare Bill aims to re-integrate the long-term unemployed and encourages them via stricter regulations to acquire new skills. The new Policing Bill will help increase the liability of the police.
Vocabulary:
- parliamentary session – parlameti ülésszak
- to draw up the tasks – felvázolta a teendőket
- Yeomen of the Guard – Brit Királyi Testőrség
- bill – itt: törvény
- to tackle – megbirkózni, megállítani
- cardinal responsibility – kiemelt felelősség
- coming year – elkövetkezendő év
- financial stability – pénzügyi stabilitás
- to aquire – elsajátít
- liability – felelősség
