The Prime Minister has used a rather clunky driving metaphor for the Queen's Speech, saying that the fairly far-reaching domestic agenda will "get the gears on our national gearbox working again".

Whether he manages to get up to speed or is caught in slow-moving political traffic should Brexit be delayed or the UK crashes out without a deal remains to be seen.

You could take the fact that the chunky number of proposed Bills indicates that he won't be moving to call for a general election soon; or you could take it that he is using the speech to lay out the party's election prospectus.

Either way, it seems curious he has decided to set out the legislative agenda now when the all-important issue of negotiating a Brexit deal remains unresolved.

Still, it is a further reflection that politics remains in a state of flux and, under the shadow of Brexit, normal rules of engagement have been thrown out of the window.

The big clash this week will, unusually be on a Saturday when parliament will sit to debate the terms of a deal - coincidentally on the day that England take on Australia in quarter final of the Rugby World Cup.

Both battles are likely to leave participants bloodied and bruised. But as to who will win? Who knows.

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