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Summary
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presided over the state opening of parliament and delivered her government's mandate for its final months in office before the general election due next year.The latest policy plans were announced by the Queen, in a speech prepared for her by the government, in a grand ceremony in the House of Lords. MPs in the House of Commons are traditionally summoned by a parliamentary official known as 'Black Rod' with three strikes of his staff on the chamber door. Britain's Labour government, trailing in opinion polls ahead of an election next year, committed to halving a burgeoning budget deficit and to curbing bankers' pay in draft laws unveiled by the Queen. The government also committed itself to security, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and for peace in the Middle East.
