Queen Elizabeth II has formally opened a new session of Britain's Parliament, with a speech laying out Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans to use his commanding majority to take Britain out of the European Union on January 31 and to shake up the country's public services.

Key points: Boris Johnson has insisted he will not agree to any further delays to Brexit

Boris Johnson has insisted he will not agree to any further delays to Brexit The Government plans to set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission that could lead to reform of the Supreme Court

The Government plans to set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission that could lead to reform of the Supreme Court The Prime Minister promised a law committing Government to spend more on the National Health System

The Queen's Speech — written by the Government but read out by the monarch from atop a golden throne in the House of Lords — rattled through several dozen bills that the Government plans to pass in the coming year.

The first will be Mr Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the law needed to make Brexit a reality.

It must become law before January 31 if Mr Johnson is to stick to his timetable, and the Government plans to hold the first significant vote on it on Friday (local time).

The bill commits Britain to leaving the EU on January 31 and to concluding trade talks with the bloc by the end of 2020.

Mr Johnson insists he will not agree to any more delays — a vow that has set off alarm bells among businesses, who fear that means the country will face a "no-deal" Brexit at the start of 2021.

Trade experts and EU officials say striking a free trade deal within 11 months will be a struggle.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has described the timetable as "extremely challenging".

The British Government also plans to pass several other Brexit-related measures, including a new immigration system that will be introduced after Brexit, when EU citizens will lose the automatic right to live and work in the UK, and new structures for agriculture and fishing.

Promise to reform health system

Mr Johnson also promised "an ambitious program of domestic reform," including a law committing the Government to spend more on the National Health Service, which has struggled to keep up with growing demand during a decade-long funding squeeze by previous Conservative governments.

There were tough-sounding announcements on law and order, including longer sentences for people convicted of terrorist offences and other serious crimes.

Several of the measures are likely to prove contentious.

Boris Johnson (centre left) and Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn (right) entered the formal opening together. ( AP: Kirsty Wigglesworth )

The Government plans to set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission that could lead to reform of the Supreme Court.

In September, the court ruled that Mr Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament was illegal.

The Government also intends to pass a law protecting military veterans from "vexatious" prosecutions. The question of whether veterans who served decades ago in Northern Ireland should be open to war crimes prosecution is hugely controversial.

Promise of greater unity in UK

Mr Johnson also promised to lessen regional inequality and bring greater unity to the United Kingdom.

But Brexit is making that more difficult. Scotland voted to remain in the EU in Britain's 2016 referendum, and last week most Scottish seats in Parliament were won by the Scottish National Party, which opposes Brexit and wants Scotland to become independent of the UK.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says that means Scotland should be able to hold a vote on independence, an option Scots rejected in a 2014 referendum that was billed as a "once-in-a-generation" event.

Ms Sturgeon said on Thursday she had formally written to the Prime Minister requesting the power to hold a new independence vote.

"The alternative is a future that we have rejected being imposed upon us," Ms Sturgeon said in Edinburgh.

"Scotland made it very clear last week it does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson taking us out of the European Union."

Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon don't agree on the need for an independence referendum. ( Duncan McGlynn/PA via AP )

Mr Johnson has said he will refuse, and the two sides look set for a slow-burning constitutional showdown.

The Queen's Speech was the centrepiece of the State Opening of Parliament, a blend of politics and pageantry that usually takes place about once a year.

The Queen reiterated Boris Johnson's promise for multiple domestic reforms. ( AP: Aaron Chown )

Britain saw its last state opening just two months ago, soon after Mr Johnson took over as Prime Minister from Theresa May through a Conservative Party leadership contest and shortly before the early election that returned him to power.

Mr Johnson will make his mark on the Government more decisively in the new year. He is expected to shake up his Cabinet and merge or even eliminate some ministries — all under the guiding eye of chief adviser Dominic Cummings, a self-styled political disruptor.

Mr Johnson will also have to wait to see how Brexit affects the UK economy.

A downturn could hamper the Government's plans to spend more on public services.

AP/Reuters

