King Charles III reads the King's speech during the State Opening of Parliament last November 7.For the first time in nearly 15 years, a reigning British monarch will on Wednesday set out a Labour’s government’s plans for the country.
In November 2009, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled plans for new laws to strengthen governance of the financial sector in the wake of the financial crash, widen the provision of free personal care, crack down on anti-social behaviour and ban cluster munitions.
This time round, it will be her son, King Charles III, outlining a packed legislative agenda for the newly-elected MPs to get their teeth into over the next 12 months.
More than 35 new laws are expected to be announced in the King’s Speech as Keir Starmer sets about delivering on the mandate given to him in the general election on July 4.
The prime minister said: “Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste.
“We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully-costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.”
Here, HuffPost UK looks at what we can expect to see in the King’s Speech.
Growing the economy is the over-riding ambition for the new government. Without it, Labour will simply not be able to afford many of its key spending plans without hiking taxes, putting up borrowing or cutting public spending.
Starmer said: “From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbo charge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.”
Among the measures set to be announced are more powers for the Office for Budget Responsibility to analyse the government’s spending plans in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the economic chaos which followed Liz Truss’s mini-Budget.
Angela Rayner’s flagship plan to strengthen workers’ rights is a key part of Labour’s economic agenda. It is likely to include a ban on zero hours contracts, ensuring rights to sick pay and paternal leave from the first day of employment, and a ban on the practice of firing and re-hiring workers.
Dismissed by the Tories during the general election as an attempt to rig the electoral system in Labour’s favour, the King’s Speech will outline plans to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16.
Keir Starmer declared the Rwanda scheme “dead and buried” within a day of becoming prime minister, but has insisted his government remains determined to stop the small boats carrying asylum seekers across the Channel from France. Labour will instead set up a Border Security Command with the aim of tackling the people smuggling gangs organising the journeys.
Labour is determined to succeed where the last Tory government repeatedly failed by finally abolishing no-fault evictions. Measures to improve housing standards in the private rented sector as are expected to form part of new legislation.
Cracking down on anti-social behaviour was one of Starmer’s six pledges to voters during the general election campaign, and a new crime and policing bill will include measures aimed at tackling the problem. The legislation will also bring in a ban on dangerous knives.
Another area where Rishi Sunak talked big but ended up failing to deliver was his pledge to introduce a phased-in ban on smoking by banning anyone currently aged 14 or under from being able to ever legally buy tobacco products. Labour have said they will push through the legislation themselves.
Keir Starmer celebrates winning the general election.One of Labour’s biggest pre-election pledges was to end the anomaly which allows VAT not to be charged on private school fees. Despite warnings that doing so will lead to an influx of pupils into the state sector, leading to higher class sizes, the King’s Speech will confirm the government is pressing ahead with the policy, which is set to come into force from September next year.
Polling by More in Commons last week showed that Labour’s plans to set up a publicly-owned energy company to boost renewables and bring down bills was popular with voters across the political spectrum. GB Energy will be handed a budget of £8.3bn to invest in green energy sources as part of Labour’s plans to decarbonise the national grid by the end of the decade.
Despite previously pledging to abolish the House of Lords entirely, Labour will not do that in one leap, preferring instead to begin with smaller changes designed to water down the power of unelected peers. A new bill will abolish all hereditary peers, while lords will in future have to retire when they become 80. Full abolition of the Lords remains Labour ambition, but it will not happen in this parliament.
Another popular Labour pledge is the promise to bring the privatised train companies back into public ownership. The King’s Speech will outline plans to create Great British Railways, which will take bring individual rail franchises into public hands as their contracts expire.
Other measures are expected to include a specific law to make drink spiking illegal, reform of the Mental Health Act, planning reform to increase the number of homes being built and a “take back control” bill handing greater powers to mayors across England.
