Queen's Speech is passed by 16 votes
Henry Zeffman
Friday October 25 2019, 12.01am, The Times
Dominic Grieve is among the 18 former Tory independents who endorsed the prime minister's programme
Boris Johnson's programme for government was approved by MPs minutes after he announced that he wanted to dissolve parliament and hold a general election.
The Queen's Speech was passed by 310 votes to 294, a majority of 16, despite the prime minister no longer having a viable Commons majority.
The prime minister's legislative programme was endorsed by the Democratic Unionist Party, despite their clashes with Mr Johnson over his Brexit deal. Mr Johnson was also backed by 18 former Conservative independents, including MPs such as Dominic Grieve and Justine Greening who want to secure a second referendum, and those such as Sir Nicholas Soames and Greg Clark who back his Brexit deal.
If Mr Johnson gets his way it is unlikely that any of the