I am reliably informed that there is a certain amount of consternation amongst (some of) the membership of the HoL. Whatever you may feel about the 'pomp and circumstance' of the State Opening of Parliament - personally, I think it retains measures of usefulness as a means of properly defining the start (and end) of the parliamentary year, a significant consideration particularly for the Opposition - it is important, I think, that the status of the respective Houses should be maintained.
Against that background, there has been some speculation as to who, in fact, will hand the speech to the Queen on the day. Of course this was traditionally the duty of the Lord Chancellor. But, on the back of the Government's reforms, there is no longer such an office-holder in the Upper House. Indeed Jack Straw, as the Secretary of State at the MoJ, is the heir-presumptive to the post. So, could we shortly be seeing him walking backwards on the floor of the HoL having delivered GB's text to Her Majesty? Not surprisingly this prospect doesn't sit comfortably with some of the older (it's relative) heads on the red benches! Could Baroness Ashton - as Leader of the House - be delegated with the task? And, if so, who then would be in charge of the Cap of Maintenance?
All silly stuff I know. But it does underline a persistent thread within the Government's thinking, namely that so many of their back-of-envelope 'reforms' are precisely that; they fail to be properly thought through to take account of their forseeable/unforeseen/unintended consequences.
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