U.K.'s Johnson Outlines His Election Offer in Queen's Speech

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson’s U.K. government will set out a domestic policy agenda on Monday that focuses on passing Brexit, healthcare investment, tackling violent crime and increasing wages for the lowest paid.

But what is normally a grand occasion, full of pomp and royal ceremony, will be largely a sideshow this year. Brexit negotiations are dominating British politics and without a majority in the Commons, Johnson has little chance of seeing many of his measures passed into law.

With that in mind, he is focusing on a push for an early general election -- and Monday’s policy package is likely to form the skeleton of his manifesto for that campaign, which could begin within weeks.

The Queen’s Speech, delivered during the State Opening of Parliament, lets the government highlight its priorities.

This speech, Johnson’s first as prime minister, includes a proposal to raise the National Living Wage to 10.50 pounds ($13.25) per hour and is a chance to woo voters ahead of a possible general election.

The administration will set out a range of legislation aimed at strengthening public confidence in law and order alongside the recruitment of 20,000 police officers, including plans to increase minimum sentences for the most violent and sexual offenders, and create a new legal definition of domestic abuse, recognizing that it can be economic, emotional and coercive as well as physical.

The government will also outline its aim to introduce tougher penalties for foreign nationals who attempt to return to the U.K. and new measures to speed up the arrest of fugitives sought by Interpol.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, ;Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann

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