19 Dec
2019

General Election and Queen’s Speech

In last Thursday’s General Election, the Conservative Party won a large parliamentary majority of 80 seats – its largest winning margin since 1987. This provides the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, with a clear platform to introduce measures promised in the Conservative Party Manifesto, many of which are relevant for our industry, including a consultation on airline insolvency. 

The most notable outcome of the result is that it all but confirms the UK’s imminent departure from the EU. The Government is expected to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) for its first parliamentary stages tomorrow, with Parliament then anticipated to go on recess for Christmas. The remaining stages of the WAB will then be completed before the 31 January exit date, and the UK enter a period of transition until December 2020, during which time there will be no changes to regulation facing UK travel businesses or travellers. 

The Government has set out their full programme of Government in the Queen’s Speech, which took place this morning. A full briefing note on the New Government and their plans for 2020 is available below.