To think UK politics just got even more ridiculous?

[Livingtothefull]

The Queen's speech may be delayed because of the time it takes for the ink to dry on the goatskin vellum it's written on….you just couldn't make this stuff up.

I am not appreciating the UK being an international laughing stock:

time.com/4814539/british-queen-speech-goatskin-delay/

www.breakingnews.ie/discover/wait-is-the-queens-speech-actually-being-delayed-because-ink-takes-a-week-to-dry-on-goatskin-parchment-793231.html

I'm a republican & have been for years, however I have nothing against the Queen personally & feel she has earned respect….so I really feel for her having to read 'her' speech (when it's finally finished). It's going to be quite some speech.

It's going to be quite some speech

Just wait till Charles does it. He'll probably add extras to do with the environment

Charles. Yet another area……oh never mind.

BTW, Theresa May was delivering her speech about 20 mins after her scheduled meeting with the Queen. Not many 'checks and balances' there then:

I agree and am also concerned how the queen to agree to this parliament knowing the potential risks to NI peace and how parliament is meant to remain neutral. I know the Queen rarely interferes with politics but I'm just surprised it was all sorted so quickly

Exactly user, how does this square with the 'rigorous impartiality' the Government is obliged (under the Good Friday Agreement) to exercise across all communities in NI?

Not blaming the Queen herself, it is the institution of monarchy which is redundant. It was useless during the Referendum fallout & it is useless now.

Delaying the Speech may it could be on there same day as Royal Ascot. Surely it is not too difficult just to write no, which is the only word the DUP generally use, except at weddings.

The institution of the Queen only interferes when parliament is broken. See Australia. As long as May can pass a Queen's speech, parliament is not broken.

Laughing stock, Trump is POTUS!

I live in the Netherlands and we had sn election on 15th March and because we always have coalitions, they've been trying to form one ever since. The second attempt has recently stalled and we go through months of this bloody spectacle every bloody time.

The last time the U.K had a hung Parliament the Dutch media made a point of saying that the British could learn from them and I thought having no effective government for months on end isn't a lesson we want thanks.

Given the political scandals going on from The Philippines to South Korea, I think there are many who'd prefer our VBP (Very British Problems) to their own brand.

Yes the vellum is the real reason for the delay.
Not raging incompetence.
Obviously

I live in Canada so am watching all this from afar. On the way home from work today I was listening to the radio and they had a piece on the goat skin. A medieval specialist was having a probably very surprising 15 mins of fame and said that the vellum used now isn't made from goat skin anymore (and the writing is printed not handwritten) but still has the same lasting properties. Was all rather fascinating.

My province also had a hung parliament at the last election. The minority government is bound to fall but has decided to form a new government, have a Queens Speech (Lieutenant Governor here) and then wait for the confidence vote before conceiving defeat to the other main party who have a confidence and supply arrangement figured out with the third party (no others elected this year). This means it will be about six weeks from election day to the new government being formed. I can't imagine that would be acceptable in the UK.

Belgium went for 589 days without a government in 2010-2011 when they found coalition negotiations a little tricky. And don't even get me started on Italy. We have a fair way to go before we're the most ludicrous EU parliamentary set-up.

The queen doesn't interfere in politics rarely, she never interferes. She's not allowed. What are you expecting her to do? She has no power at all. She can't say no to Theresa May. That's not how our monarchy works.

The delay probably is the amount of time it takes to dry.

So once they've written it we'll have to wait even longer

Laura Kuenssberg‏ @bbclaurak
My last piece of info on #goategate - speech is written onto vellum AFTER it's delivered, apparently, so not sure it quite explains holdup

Caroline Shenton‏ @dustshoveller
I was Director of the @UKParlArchives for 6 years and I can tell you that the Queen's Speech is not made of parchment, goat or otherwise.

Bottom line: if you must lie, at least try to think of something remotely believable.

We don't have a checks and balances system- that's the US. Hence the rough ride Trump is thankfully getting.
No the Queen does not write the speech. I was going to say ffs but apparently it is against the Mumsnet code to criticise political ignorance.
The vellum thing? They tried to change that recently but couldn't find anything that works as well .
We still have Acts of Parliament from centuries ago because we've had a Parliament of sorts for that long.
Could we do things differently and in a more up to date way? Yes. Does that mean we are utterly shit now? No.

And the delay on the Queen's speech is obviously to do with the negotiations with the DUP. A draft Queen's speech is written for both party leaders in advance of the election based on their respective manifestos . And then tweaked afterwards when they know who the PM is.

And ... we have a government. The Tories won the election. They need the DUP's support to get anything through Parliament starting with the Queen's speech- which needs a vote from Parliament once it has been delivered. If the Tories had won enough seats they wouldn't need votes from other parties to get Parliamentary approval.

What's more important?

Queen's Speech?
Royal Ascot?
Order of the Garter ceremony

Country comes before going to watch sports or handing out medals

It does, but the queen is still allowed to be pissed off at missing events that she enjoys and has been attending regularly for the best part of a century.

Putting this mess on the Queen is ridiculous. And I don't even like having a monarchy.

We might have a grumpy Queen and Phillip when it's read out.

Maybe she'll do it at break neck speed?

She apparently disliked Thatcher and the harm that one did to our country. She read out the Thatcher period Queen's speeches because that's her job.