King Charles has now finished taking part in the state opening of parliament for the first time as monarch. The purpose of today’s King’s Speech was to set out the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session, the first since the general election. Sir Keir Starmer has put forward a big government programme that promises to ‘always put the country first’. It will be based upon ‘security, fairness and opportunity for all’, with a heavy emphasis on economic stability and the need for decisions to be ‘consistent with its fiscal rules’. In a lengthy statement by the King, the new Labour government announced the highest number of bills since 2005. Starmer’s government has made clear it wants to focus both on big issues – such as planning reform, devolution and the economy – as well as everyday frustrations from commuter transport to football strips.
Here is a rundown of all the announcements:
Budget Responsibility Bill
All significant tax and spending changes will be subject to review by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). A ‘fiscal lock’ will be introduced in order to avoid a repeat of the Liz Truss mini-budget.
Pension Schemes Bill
Starmer’s government has promised to ensure investment into pensions. This Bill aims to make sure that people don’t lose track of their pension pots and that members will save into pension schemes in the first place.
Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
Labour will bring forward legislation to ‘strengthen audit and corporate governance’. This will replace the Financial Reporting Council with the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority which will have additional powers to tackle poor financial reporting.
National Wealth Fund Bill
The National Wealth Fund aims to attract investment from the private sector to further economic growth in the UK – and Starmer will put this on a statutory footing. Viewed as key to the government’s plan to deliver a greener, growing economy, the National Wealth Fund will send funds through the UK Infrastructure Bank to allow investments can be made as soon as possible. Labour will create an Industrial Strategy Council which will include business experts to provide stability and expertise to decisions made with regard to the industry. The government says it is keen to establish a ‘new partnership with both business and working people’. By ‘prioritising wealth creation for all communities’, Starmer hopes he will be able to lead the country out of the cost-of-living crisis and see an improvement in current living standards.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Planning reforms will form a key part of Labour’s desire to ‘get Britain building’. The government has set a target of building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years and hopes to speed up house-building by publishing consultation advice to help locate land that local councils can build on to ‘accelerate stalled housing sites’ in England to meet housing targets. The Times has reported that once councils have located land upon which to build new homes, locals will be able to have input into the style of new housing, but not the new housing getting built. If councils take too long to produce timely plans, government ministers will step in and impose blueprints on them. Starmer also hopes to encourage private investment in new technologies and skills for the industry to help accelerate delivery of new homes.
Employment Rights Bill
Labour will introduce a much-anticipated New Deal for Working People to make ‘work pay’, which will ban exploitative practices like zero hours contracts and fire and rehire practices used by businesses to control wages. Equal pay protections will also be strengthened to ‘enhance employment rights’.
English Devolution Bill
Constitutional reform will give new powers to metro mayors and local authorities to improve local services and infrastructure. The government will hand more powers to those with an understanding of specific local challenges, including in areas like employment support, housing and transport. Starmer’s government said today it believes that ‘greater devolution…is a key driver of economic growth’.
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Rail franchising will be reformed, and Labour will renationalise railway companies to bring them into public ownership over the next five years once their current deal ends – or before if they fail to deliver on what they’ve promised.
Railways Bill
Labour will establish Great British Railways to oversee railway planing services and there will be a simplification of travel fares and ticket systems, with digital season tickets and automatic compensation for bad services and delays. A new watchdog – the Passenger Standards Authority – will be introduced.
Better Buses Bill
In a further nod to devolution, powers for local services will be handed to those who run the area. It is hoped that this bill, alongside other plans for devolving responsibilities and reforming other transport systems, will ‘enhance Britain’s position as a leading industrial nation and enable the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation’.
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
Funds from the banking sector, as opposed to taxpayer cash, can be used by the Bank of England to cover the costs of smaller banks in trouble.
Arbitration Bill
Another bill to help promote economic growth, the Arbitration Bill will help resolve business disputes more efficiently with the aim of attracting international legal business.
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
This proposed legislation will ensure better regulation of online marketplaces and high-risk products, as well as making sure the UK ends recognition of EU product regulations where appropriate.
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
Digital verification services will be set up with the use of digital ID cards likely. Other new ways of using data will be introduced under ‘smart’ schemes, including a new digital map for the underground transport system.
High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill
At last year’s Tory conference, Rishi Sunak called off plans for the northern leg of HS2 – and while Starmer isn’t reversing this move, Labour wants to improve east to west lines instead.
Great British Energy Bill
GB Energy will be a publicly-owned investment company based in Scotland – although there is no definite location decided as yet – in a bid to accelerate clean energy transition and help lower household energy bills. Starmer wants to use the company to attract private investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind. The Labour government will also bring forward legislation to help the UK achieve ‘energy independence’ and attract further investment into new infrastructure.
The Crown Estate Bill
Greater powers of investment and the ability to borrow will be given to the Crown Estate, allowing it to invest in offshore wind projects among other infrastructure designs.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
A bill to support the production of sustainable aviation fuel will be introduced to help tackle the impact of flights on the environment.
Water (Special Measures) Bill
An issue that Sir Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats put at the heart of their election campaign, Starmer’s government wants to improve water quality and will introduce a bill to strengthen the powers of the water regulator.
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Starmer will introduce Border Security Command to strengthen the UK border. His government will also improve counter-terror powers to tackle organised human trafficking in a bid to stop illegal immigrants being transported to the UK.
Crime and Policing Bill
The government will bring forward legislation to enhance community policing powers, ensuring officers are better equipped to deal with antisocial behaviour on the streets. Under proposed plans, serious weapons like ‘ninja swords’ and ‘zombie knives’ that can be bought online will be outlawed and Labour will crack down on low-value shoplifting (with a value of under £200), as well as introducing tougher penalties for offenders.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
Legislation will be introduced to improve the safety and security of public venues. Martyn’s Law will require certain kinds of venues to take measures to prepare for possible terrorist attacks. Steps that specific premises will be required to take will depend upon their size and the nature of the activities that take place there.
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
Labour plans to halve violence against women and girls and aims to introduce better support systems for victims of crime, alongside better protection from sex offenders. The victims’ commissioner’s powers will be increased. Offenders will also be forced to attend their sentencing hearings – a discussion that re-emerged after the case of Lucy Letby, who refused to attend court for her sentencing.
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
Legislation will to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ and raise educational standards in the country. Action will be taken to get people back to work post-pandemic while a bill will be introduced to promote children’s wellbeing.
Private school taxes
Private school fees will no longer be exempt from VAT, and the cost will likely be transferred onto families. The money raised from this will fund the training of 6,500 new teachers – in a bid to improve education across state schools.
Skills England Bill
The government will establish Skills England, which will work across numerous government departments to identify labour needs and improve training opportunities. Starmer plans for Skills England to engage with agencies across the devolved nations, encourage businesses to invest in skills training and to focus on forming new partnerships with employers.
Apprenticeship levy reform
Firms will be allowed to use up to 50 per cent of their levy contributions to fund training through alternative routes to apprenticeships, increasing flexibility for funding training – with proposals to introduce a list of approved non-apprenticeship courses.
Renters’ Rights Bill
The government will introduce legislation to give renters more rights. Labour will bring back legislation to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ to give more rights to tenants over rent rises. There will also be an end to fixed-term tenancy contracts, which means that renters will be able to leave a property when it suits them – rather than the landlord.
Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
The government will also publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform to provide homeowners with more rights. It plans to modernise the existing legal framework and restrict the sale of new leasehold flats, as well regulating ground rents for existing leaseholders in a bid to keep costs down.
Football Governance Bill
Starmer’s government plans to strengthen protections for fans by introducing an independent football regulator. A football governance bill will require both professional and semi-professional football clubs in England to reveal who their owners are – and the bill will also allow the Football Association the ability to block ownership of a club by anyone whom they consider unfit. A levy will be imposed on Premier League clubs to pay smaller clubs. Clubs will be banned from joining international breakaway groups – like the controversial and short-lived European Super League – and owners will have less creative licence over kit and logos to prevent ruining a club’s heritage.
Mental Health Bill
Starmer’s government has pledged to provide care free at the point of use and reduce waiting times, with an increased focus on disease prevention over cure. Mental health provision will be improved for young people, and Labour aims to give mental health ‘the same attention and focus as physical health’. Legislation will be introduced to modernise the Mental Health Act ‘so it is fit for the 21st century’.
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
The Tobacco and Vapes bill will be reintroduced to resurrect and enact Rishi Sunak’s plan to introduce a generational smoking ban by phasing out all legal tobacco sales in England. Under Sunak’s original plan, anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will not be allowed to ever buy cigarettes.
Junk food ban
Legislation will be introduced to restrict junk food ads shown to children. Further restrictions will be placed on the sale of energy drinks to children. North of the border in Scotland, there is already an age limit – 16 – on energy drinks.
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
The government will also introduce draft legislation that aims to ban the use of conversion practices, which Labour has described as ‘abuse’.
Hillsborough Law
Referred to as the Hillsborough Law – and following the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, where police mistakes were covered up and justice delayed – the government will establish legislation that will demand a ‘duty of candour’ from public servants and aim to stop public authorities from acting defensively. Within this legislation, there would also be a statutory guarantee of funding for bereaved family members, with the aim of helping them engage in inquests and inquiries.
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
A statutory commissioner will be introduced to act as an ‘independent champion’ for the armed forces and the family members of those who serve.
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
Starmer will publish draft legislation on race equality, to ensure that the ‘full right to equal pay’ will be enshrined in law.
Council of the Nations and Regions
In another nod to the improvement of devolution, Labour will form a new Council of the Nations and Regions to help improve relations and collaboration between the heads of devolved governments, mayors of combined authorities and the Prime Minister.
Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation
Starmer will repeal the Legacy Act – a ban on inquests and civil actions relating to the Troubles introduced by the Conservative government in 2023 – and has pledged to support Northern Ireland’s devolved government.
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
In further constitutional reform, hereditary peers will have their right to sit and vote in the Lords removed. There was previously discussion about an age limit being imposed on those in the second chamber, however this has not been confirmed today.
A modernisation committee of the House of Commons will also be introduced to ‘drive up standards, improve work practices and reform procedures’. Starmer’s government has also pledged to ‘strengthen the integrity of elections’ and ‘encourage wide participation’ – however has not yet confirmed whether the vote will be given to 16 and 17 year olds.
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Labour hopes to improve the country’s defences against cyber attacks, with recent examples including hacking of NHS systems. Regulators will be given more powers and reporting requirements.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
Starmer will ensure that these organisations will be able to continue to operate fully in Britain.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
This legislation will bolster efforts to increase the number of female bishops in the second chamber. It will extend a 2015 provision that lets female diocesan bishops skip ahead of their male counterparts when vacancies arise in the House of Lords for bishops.
Holocaust Memorial Bill
The government plans to build a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre next to Westminster.
Other announcements included…
Strategic Defence Review
A review of the UK’s defence systems will be carried out. The Labour government has also offered assurances that it will maintain Trident, the nuclear deterrent based in Faslane, Scotland. Starmer has also pledged to continue to support Ukraine and hopes to help the nation seek a clear path to joining Nato, with Britain’s commitment to Nato to remain ‘unshakeable’.
EU/UK security pact
Relations with Europe will be ‘reset’, and Labour hopes to improve the trade and investment relationship with the EU in a post-Brexit landscape. Starmer’s government will also pursue a new security pact to ‘strengthen cooperation’ between the EU and Britain when dealing with shared hostile threats.
Two state solution
On the war in Gaza, the Prime Minister said his government is committed to a two state solution with a secure Israel and a ‘viable and sovereign’ Palestinian state. Despite some hesitation from the Labour leader at the beginning of the conflict, the government’s stance is that there should be an immediate ceasefire.
Artificial intelligence
Requirements will be placed on those working to develop powerful artificial intelligence technology. Legal safeguards for large language models are set to be introduced to ensure that new AI is used safely in the UK. Starmer’s Labour government will also demand better transparency over test data used by AI technology.
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