Neither House can conduct its regular parliamentary business until the State Opening of Parliament has taken place and the King’s Speech has been delivered.

At 11:15, the King will arrive at the Sovereign’s Entrance underneath the Victoria Tower, at the House of Lords end of the Palace of Westminster. The King will proceed to the Robing Room to don the Robe of State. The Royal Procession then moves through the Royal Gallery into the House of Lords Chamber. Peers will already have assembled there, and at 11:30 the King will take his place on the Throne.

By tradition, an MP, who is both the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household and a senior Government Whip, is said to be held “hostage” in Buckingham Palace, waiting there while the Sovereign attends Parliament, symbolising a guarantee of the Monarch’s safe return.

Once the King has taken his place, a signal will be given to Black Rod to summon the House of Commons to attend His Majesty in the House of Lords. When Black Rod reaches the Commons Chamber, the door is slammed shut in front of him, obliging him to strike it three times with his staff to gain entry. This ritual symbolises the Commons’ independence from the Crown. It is commonly said to date back to the events of 1642 when King Charles I, accompanied by soldiers, entered the Commons Chamber in an attempt to arrest five MPs he accused of treason. However, records show that MPs objected to Black Rod entering the House of Commons without permission even before the civil war.

After being admitted, Black Rod delivers the King’s command for the Commons to attend him in the House of Lords. MPs then make their way through Central Lobby towards the Lords Chamber, led first by the Speaker, followed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

When MPs arrive at the Bar of the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor presents the King with the text of the Speech. Written by the Government, the King’s Speech sets out the legislation the Government intends to introduce during the forthcoming parliamentary session. Following the Speech, the Leader of the House of Commons usually makes a Written Statement confirming the list of bills alluded to by the King. The Government also typically publishes supporting documents providing further detail on the proposed legislation. The House of Commons Library has published a briefing on the likely contents of the Speech.

Although the King’s Speech sets out the Government’s planned legislative agenda, Ministers are not confined to the measures announced on the day. Bills omitted from the Speech may still be introduced later in the parliamentary session, while legislation that is included may ultimately never be brought forward if the Government decides not to proceed with it.

Once the King has finished delivering the Speech, he will withdraw from the Lords Chamber. MPs then return to the House of Commons, and both Houses can begin formal parliamentary business.

Explore our three short guides to the King’s Speech for a closer look at what happens, why it matters, and what follows.

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Speaker’s Statement: After MPs have returned from hearing the King’s Speech in the Lords, the Speaker will suspend Commons proceedings until 14:30, when he resumes by making statement about the “duties and responsibilities of honourable Members”. This typically includes a reminder about the standards expected of MPs and reference to the House of Commons Code of Conduct.

Outlawries Bill (Presentation): At the start of every parliamentary session, both Houses give a symbolic First Reading to a bill that is not included in the King’s Speech. Each bill exists only as a traditional title, so is neither published nor debated, and although it is formally ordered to receive a Second Reading, no date is ever set for it. The entire process usually lasts only a few seconds.

The ritual serves an important constitutional purpose. It demonstrates that Parliament is free to consider business of its own choosing, rather than being limited solely to the Government’s legislative programme set out in the King’s Speech. In the House of Commons, the bill used for this is always the Outlawries Bill. First introduced in 1727 to prevent “clandestine outlawries” – the practice of declaring someone an outlaw without due process – it has long been accepted that the bill should not proceed through the normal legislative stages.

Questions and statements: There are no Urgent Questions, Ministerial Statements, Ten Minute Rule Bills, or Westminster Hall debates on the day of the State Opening of Parliament.

There are also no oral questions to Ministers during the first three sitting days of a new session because the House of Commons Standing Orders specify that there must be a minimum two-day notice period for such questions.

Debate on the Address: The first days of the new session will be devoted to the debate on the ‘Loyal Address’ (a motion that a humble Address be presented to His Majesty thanking him for his Speech). In practice, the debate provides MPs with an opportunity for a wide-ranging debate on almost any aspect of Government policy.

The motion is moved and seconded by two backbenchers, chosen by the Government from their own side, traditionally pairing a newer MP with an experienced parliamentarian. By convention, their speeches are light in tone, often featuring humour – or attempted humour – alongside proud references to their constituencies.

The debate then moves to the main party leaders. Speeches are delivered, in turn, by the Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and then other Members. The debate on the Address will last for five or six days, with each day focused on one or more related policy themes.

The motion for the Address can be amended, and under Standing Order No. 33(1) the Speaker may select up to four amendments for debate and decision. Of these, one amendment may be moved on the penultimate day of the debate, and up to three more selected on the final day. Usually, the amendment moved on the penultimate day, and one further amendment on the final day, are tabled by the Leader of the Opposition. Another amendment in the name of the leader of the third largest party (the Liberal Democrats) will usually also be moved. The wording of these amendments will be known when they appear on the Order Paper.

The motion responding to the King’s Speech was last successfully amended in 2016, when the Government accepted an amendment from its own backbench MPs expressing regret that the Speech did not include “a bill to protect the National Health Service from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership”.

But there is a strong constitutional convention that the final vote on the main motion for the Address is a matter of confidence in the Government. A defeat would be expected to trigger the Government’s resignation or a request for an early dissolution of Parliament for a general election.

Adjournment: Labour MP Alistair Strathern will give a speech on unadopted roads and public amenities on new developments. A Minister will then give a response. (House of Commons Library briefing)

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Select Vestries Bill (Presentation): Following the King’s Speech, the Lords will adjourn until 15:30. Like the House of Commons, the Lords then gives a symbolic First Reading to a bill not included in the King’s Speech. The purpose is to underline the constitutional point that the House may consider matters of its own choosing, rather than only the Government’s legislative programme. As in the Commons, the bill will proceed no further than First Reading.

The bill used in the House of Lords is the Select Vestries Bill. It is a relic of the debates in the 18th and 19th centuries over reform of select vestries – local governing bodies based on Anglican parish boundaries that met in church vestries. The term ‘select’ reflected the fact that voting rights in these bodies were restricted by property qualifications. Reform of select vestries became closely associated with wider campaigns to extend the franchise and curb the influence of the Crown and executive power. As the House of Lords historically comprised powerful landowners and bishops, the Select Vestries Bill came to symbolise the expectation that Members should act in the national interest rather than for self-interest.

Lord Speaker’s Statement: The Lord Speaker will formally inform the House that the King has delivered the Speech earlier in the day and that it will be published in the Official Report (Hansard).

Debate on the Address: The debate in the Lords also takes place on a motion for a humble Address thanking the King for the Speech. Unlike in the Commons, however, the first day of debate in the Lords is limited to the speeches of the mover and seconder of the motion. As in the Commons, these are usually backbenchers from the governing party, selected by the Government, pairing a long-serving peer with a newer arrival to the House. It is customary for their speeches to be uncontroversial.

Once the seconder has spoken, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lords will move that the debate be adjourned. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders in the Lords then congratulate the mover and seconder before offering their initial reflections on the King’s Speech. After the Leader of the House has replied, the debate is formally adjourned.

The House then proceeds to a number of formal items of business, including the appointment of the Senior Deputy Speaker. Peers also agree a sessional order against “stoppages in the street”, directing the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to keep the streets leading to Parliament clear and open so that Members are not obstructed in reaching the House. Although the order has little practical legal effect, it remains part of the Lords traditions; the House of Commons abandoned renewing a similar order in 2003.

The debate on the Address will begin properly on Thursday. The themes for each of the five days of Lords debate have been announced:

• Thursday 14 May: economic growth, trade and EU partnership;

• Monday 18 May: justice, home affairs and the Union;

• Tuesday 19 May: education, culture, technology and energy security;

• Wednesday 20 May: health, housing and transport; and

• Thursday 21 May: foreign affairs, international relations and defence.

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Highlights include:

House of Commons

15:00: Education Committee – Reading for Pleasure: Experts, practitioners and academics focused on early years education will give evidence.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

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Details of Thursday’s business can be found below.

Questions and statements: The day will begin at 09:30 with any Urgent Questions. Likely topics may include issues that arose during prorogation.

The Leader of the House of Commons, Sir Alan Campbell MP, will then present the weekly Business Statement, setting out the business in the House for the next couple of weeks and answering questions about anything that Members might want debated. Any Ministerial Statements will follow.

Debate on the Address (continued): The House will continue its debate on the King’s Speech. While the opening day’s debate is traditionally wide-ranging, each subsequent day is informally organised around a specific policy theme. The themes have not yet been announced and may differ from those debated in the House of Lords.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney will give a speech on the impact of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

There are no Westminster Hall debates until the debate on the Address concludes next week.

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Debate on the Address: From 11:00, the House will begin the first full day of debate on the King’s Speech. Today’s debate will focus on economic growth, trade and EU partnership. Members are expected to keep their contributions broadly within the scope of those themes. A running list of peers who have indicated their intention to speak can be found here.

Amendments to the Address may be moved at any time during the debate, and are then disposed of either at the end of that day’s proceedings or held over until the conclusion of the wider debate on day five.

Other business: There are no oral questions or Grand Committee business scheduled today.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Accounts Committee – Shared services: Senior civil servants from the Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury will give evidence.

10:30: Home Affairs Committee – Responses to antisemitism: The Antisemitism Policy Trust, the Community Security Trust, the Jewish Leadership Council, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Independent Adviser on Antisemitism Lord Mann will give evidence.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Neither House is scheduled to sit on Friday 15 May 2026. Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 18 May 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 17 May.

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