Queen's speech scrapped next year under plans for a two-year Parliament to deliver Brexit

Parliament will sit for a double-length two year term to ensure that it delivers Brexit, the Government has announced.

Next year's Queen's Speech will be scrapped under plans designed to ease the way for a raft of laws taking the UK out of the European Union.

The highly unusual change was announced by Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons.

She said the move would allow MPs and peers more time to scrutinise legislation around Brexit.

The Queen's Speech is delivered last year. Credit: PA

The Queen's speech normally defines the broad outlines of major new legislation planned by the Government for the coming year.

The double-term means that the Conservatives do not plan to set out a Parliamentary programme next year and will instead focus much of their energy on the complex task of unmeshing the UK from the EU.

This year's Queen's Speech has been delayed by two days to June 21 as the party held discussions with the DUP to thrash out an agreement on propping up the Conservatives' minority government.

A formal deal between the two parties has yet to be secured but Tory sources have said there is a "broad agreement" on the principles of the speech.

Andrea Leadsom said the change would allow parliament more time to scrutinise Brexit laws. Credit: PA

The Government said the Great Repeal Bill, which converts EU laws into British legislation, will be considered alongside other Brexit legislation.

The announcement of a double parliamentary term comes amid growing pressure on Mrs May over her future as Prime Minister.

Tory backbencher Heidi Allen told The Sunday Times the country wanted a "leader and a party that will carry us through this most turbulent of periods but care about the little man".

"We have to change, and if we don't we deserve to die," she added.

Former Brexit minister David Jones, who was sacked in Mrs May's reshuffle, warned the PM not to row back on the exit strategy taking Britain out of the EU, telling the newspaper it would be a "betrayal of trust".

The Conservatives and DUP are still working out the details of the minority Government. Credit: PA

It is not the first time that the parliamentary term has been extended.

The former Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government dropped the Queen's Speech in 2011, with ministers insisting it would give Parliament time to scrutinise the government's heavy legislative agenda.

Labour at the time accused the coalition of an "abuse of power" and said it was aimed solely at easing the passage of controversial legislation.

Ms Leadsom said the move to extend the upcoming Parliamentary term was motivated by the knowledge that Brexit would "require substantial amounts of legislation".