Royal Proclamation read to mark the dissolution of Parliament

The City of London’s Common Cryer and Serjeant at Arms has read the Royal Proclamation for dissolving Parliament ahead of the General Election.

Major Peter Oweh read the document aloud in a public ceremony on the steps of The Royal Exchange at the Bank junction in London, a tradition to follow the dissolution of Parliament, which took place yesterday.

Parliament will sit again after the General Election, which will take place on Thursday, July 4.

While Parliament is dissolved, neither the House of Commons nor the House of Lords will sit, and there are no MPs until a new 650-strong set is voted in.

In the proclamation, authorised by the King at a meeting of the Privy Council, Charles “do hereby dissolve the said Parliament accordingly”, a reference to the 58th Parliament which first sat on December 17, 2019 – before the UK’s formal withdrawal from the European Union, the Covid-19 pandemic and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The proclamation also makes provision for MPs and peers to meet again in Westminster on Tuesday July 9, the week after the General Election.

The State Opening of Parliament and The King’s Speech will follow on Wednesday July 17.