The Queen's Speech setting out the government's legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session will be held on Wednesday May 9, it has been revealed.

It will be the first State Opening of Parliament since May 2010 after there was no Queen's Speech, unusually, in 2011.

In a written ministerial statement published on Thursday, Leader of the House of Commons Sir George Young said: "Her Majesty the Queen will open a new session of this Parliament on Wednesday 9 May 2012."

The Queen's Speech, in which the government trails the bills it intends to introduce in the coming session, has traditionally been held in the autumn and following general elections.

But the coalition moved the event to the spring as part of its introduction of five-year fixed term parliaments.

That meant there was not one in autumn 2011 and the current session has lasted two years.

The last Queen's Speech was on May 25, 2010, when the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition set out its first programme.

Labour has repeatedly complained that the government has messed up its legislative programme, with the Commons currently having very little to do. No major pieces of legislation are going through the Commons, and most days are spent on backbench debates and opposition days.

There's speculation that the Queen's Speech could include a Bill for gay marriage and another on replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber. Neither of these Bills, if introduced, would go through Parliament without controversy.

David Cameron is thought to favour giving MPs a free vote on gay marriage, which could lead to a war of words breaking out within the Conservative party.