British PM sets out plan for power

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out his plans for government on Thursday following a sweeping election win, focused on delivering Brexit and supporting the health service.

Queen Elizabeth II will open parliament in a lavish ceremony where she will read out the Conservative leader's legislative programme for the months ahead.

But in a sign of a looming constitutional battle, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was to stake her claim for a new vote on independence, just before the monarch's address.

Top of Johnson's to-do list will be a bill to ratify the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union, which he negotiated in October but could not get through parliament.

Equipped with a majority of 80 in the 650-seat House of Commons, he hopes to push through the deal in time to "Get Brexit Done" on the next EU deadline of January 31.

He has also vowed to address concerns about public services, particularly among the many working-class voters who backed the Tories for the first time in this election.

There will be a bill to enshrine in law spending increases for the state-run National Health Service, which has faced cuts during a decade of Conservative austerity measures.

– Brexit cliff-edge –

The Queen's Speech normally takes place about once a year but there was one in October, following Johnson's election as Conservative leader in July.

Rebellions over Brexit left him without the support in the Commons he needed to govern, so he called a snap election — and won a landslide.

As a result, Thursday's speech will be scaled down, with the 93-year-old monarch eschewing her horse-drawn carriage for a car and her crown for a hat.