SIR KEIR Starmer has today unveiled the most left-wing government agenda in a decade packed with nationalisation, new quangos and reams of red tape.
The Prime Minister has outlined sweeping housing reforms to get more Brits on the property ladder but unions set to welcome strike restrictions being torn up.
King Charles formally read out the government’s legislative agenda amongst 39 pieces of new legislation in Labour’s first King’s Speech in fifteen years.
Rail services, buses and reams of energy brought under public control – with big questions raised over how immigration clampdown will work in reality.
The new PM claims his radical King’s Speech will “fix the foundations” of Britain and get growth going rather than implement the “dead end” of populist charm.
In major King’s Speech announcements:
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The new PM outlined a house-building blitz, give more powers to local leaders and bring rail services back into public ownership in a major drive for growth.
Sir Keir says his 39 pieces of legislation sets the country on the path to getting the country back on track, adding: “We start that journey immediately”.
He says the challenges the country faces require “determined, patient work and serious solutions”.
The PM says: “The snake oil charm of populism may sound seductive, but it drives us into the dead end of further division and greater disappointment”.
He adds: “We will serve every person, regardless of how they voted, to fix the foundations, of this nation for the long term.
“The era of politics as performance and self-interest above service is over. The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era.”
The PM, who swept to victory 13 days ago, said that only be making working people’s lives better and delivering change that politics can become a “force for good”.
He also takes a thinly-veiled swipe at ex-Tory leader Liz Truss and her mini-Budget by saying he will be “turning the page for good” on economic irresponsibility.
A new Budget Responsibility Bill, Ministers say, will ensure that the “economic chaos” will never happen again under Sir Keir’s watch.
The emphasis of the King’s Speech will be wealth creation with Sir Keir declaring he will “take the brakes off Britain”.
In a broad sweep of criticism aimed at the Tories’ 14 years in office, he takes aim at their “pervasive inability to face the future”.
Priorities for the government include ripping up planning laws by removing the power from local people so home building and national infrastructure projects get the green light.
Elected mayors and local leaders can be part of a devolution revolution so they have more say over energy and transport policies in their areas.
Railway companies will be brought back into public ownership when their contracts expire or if they fail to hit contractual commitments.
A new firm – GB Energy – will be established as the government pledge to remove fossil fuels from the electricity supplies by the end of the decade.
A new workers’ rights bill will ban zero-hours contracts and a ban on fire and rehire. However, this will be subject to a major consultation to assess the concerns of big business to avoid red tape.
Counter-terrorism powers will be set out allowing the authorities to crack down on people-smuggling gangs in a bid to stop migrants crossing the Channel.
Labour have also pledged to repeal anti-strike laws within 100 days of winning power. This would cancel laws that guarantee minimum staffing levels in schools and the health service on strike days.
