A summary of today's developments
Sir Keir Starmer has set out his legislative agenda at the King’s Speech. There were 40 bills including a liberalisation of the planning laws, an employment rights bill and plans to increase devolution to metro mayors and combined authorities in England. Rail companies will also be taken into public ownership, and Great British Energy will be launched.
The government will definitely legislate to allow votes at 16 before the next general election, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said. Lowering the voting age was not included in the king’s speech, even though it was in the manifesto. In an interview with the News Agents podcast, asked if the government would legislate before the end of this parliament, Phillipson replied: “We are determined to make that happen.”
Keir Starmer has drafted into government two leftwing critics of his stance on benefits and green investment, as the prime minister faces pressure to drop Labour’s cautious approach to reviving the economy. Carys Roberts, the influential director of the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, has joined Downing Street’s policy unit as a special adviser, while Rachel Statham, who headed the IPPR’s work on public services, has been hired to lead his policy unit’s work on childcare, the early years and education.
The more than 15 million people who save into workplace pension schemes in the UK may benefit from a shake-up in the king’s speech designed to add £11,000 to the average retiree’s savings.
The government’s plans to introduce the world’s first full smoking ban, halt sales of energy drinks to children and modernise mental health laws are “gamechanging” and will save thousands of lives, health leaders have said
The former prime minster Liz Truss has complained that her mini-budget is described as “disastrous” in the Downing Street briefing pack giving details of the bills in the king’s speech. In a letter to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, she said: “It has been brought to my attention that the king’s speech background briefing notes published today and available online contain repeated references personally to me and actions undertaken by my government in the context of a political attack. “Not only is what is stated in the document untrue, making no reference to the LDI [liability driven investment] crisis precipitated by the Bank of England’s regulatory failures; but I regard it as a flagrant breach of the civil service code, since such personal and political attacks have no place in a document prepared by civil servants – an error made all the more egregious when the attack is allowed to masquerade in the document among ‘key facts’.”
Downing Street has announced that Keir Starmer has set up a ministerial taskforce to develop a child poverty strategy. It will be led by Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary. Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Wesminster, later asked in the Commons how many children will remain in place while that taskforce undertakes its work. He said the taskforce will conclude the two-child benefit must be scrapped. Starmer said he thinks all MPs want to address this problem. What matters is the commitment to address the number and to “drive those numbers down”.
Developers have welcomed Labour’s intentions to liberalise the planning regime in England and Wales to kickstart the building of new homes and infrastructure, even as rural organisations warn about the possible consequences.
Labour announced on Wednesday it would enact a series of measures to make it easier to get planning permission, including forcing local authorities to stick to mandatory housing targets and making it easier for government bodies to issue compulsory purchase orders.
Keir Starmer has put these reforms at the centre of his growth agenda, telling MPs: “We will reform the planning rules – a choice ignored for 14 years – to build the homes and infrastructure.”
Neil Jefferson, the chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Planning has been the biggest constraint on housebuilding in recent years and the measures proposed will address the main areas of concern by bringing more land forward for development more quickly.”
The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords, Lord True, said the record-breaking number of government defeats in the upper chamber during the last administration was “wrong”.
He said it is not the role of an unelected chamber to block the efforts of the democratically elected chamber, and that, as Opposition leader, he will “lead in that responsible tone”.
He said: “I thought it wrong under the Conservative government and I think it would be wrong under a Labour government.
“This House has a right, and indeed a duty, to engage with ministers and to ask MPs to think again. But an unelected House must never be a House of opposition.
“The days of wilful defeats of an elected government should stop, and while I am leader, I will seek to lead in that responsible tone.”
In response to the government announcing a new child poverty taskforce, Paul Carberry, chief executive at Action for Children, said: “I was pleased to meet with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, today to discuss how to urgently help lift children out of poverty.
“It’s right that the new taskforce and Child Poverty Unit works across government to look at the wider drivers and solutions to child poverty.
“This should include breaking down the barriers to work many parents face and investing in social security.
“A strategy for tackling child poverty must start with abolishing the cruel and unnecessary two-child limit. This would immediately lift around 300,000 children out of poverty.”
Britain’s new government has just reached the point where things get serious. The king’s speech marks the ceremonial divide between Labour’s pinch-yourself fortnight following the 4 July election landslide and the start of the hard slog of delivery, by which Keir Starmer’s government will actually be judged next time. It’s the end of the overture and the start of the drama itself, the part that really matters.
Government will legislate for votes at 16 before next general election, says Bridget Phillipson
The government will definitely legislate to allow votes at 16 before the next general election, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said.
Lowering the voting age was not included in the king’s speech, even though it was in the manifesto. In an interview with the News Agents podcast, asked if the government would legislate before the end of this parliament, Phillipson replied:
We are determined to make that happen. It was a key commitment in our manifesto and that and other areas that perhaps might not have featured in the speech itself today, we are determined to bring forward … Yes, it will happen. But this is the first stage of our legislative programme.
That is all from me for today. Nadeem Badshah is now taking over.
Downing Street has published the 105-page briefing on the bills in the king’s speech here.
Starmer appoints two influential leftwing critics as government advisers
Keir Starmer has drafted into government two leftwing critics of his stance on benefits and green investment, as the prime minister faces pressure to drop Labour’s cautious approach to reviving the economy, Richard Partington reports. He says:
Carys Roberts, the influential director of the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, has joined Downing Street’s policy unit as a special adviser, while Rachel Statham, who headed the IPPR’s work on public services, has been hired to lead his policy unit’s work on childcare, the early years and education.
Roberts had been among leading figures behind Labour’s now-scrapped pledge to spend £28bn a year on green investment.
Richard’s full story is here.
Larry Elliott, the Guardian’s economics editor, has filed his take on the king’s speech. He says two of the main measures are the bills on planning and employment rights. “Both have the advantage of potentially being transformative without costing the government serious amount of money,” he says. He explains:
Planning reform is seen as key to unlocking the door to faster growth. There will be national targets for housebuilding and a national strategy for infrastructure. The planning system will be reformed and streamlined. Democratic engagement will be about where, not if, new homes and infrastructure are built. This top-down approach is almost certain to be tested in the courts and is at odds with Labour’s separate plans to devolve more power to local authorities and metro mayors. It might not be universally popular in some of Labour’s newly won seats in the leafy shires either.
Business likes the sound of planning reform but is less keen on the employment rights bill, which will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, provide a range of employment rights from a worker’s first day in a new job, and make it easier for trade unions to organise and operate.
Employers have expressed concern that the reforms will make the labour market less flexible. The government’s argument is that flexibility has not resulted in higher productivity or strong real wage growth, and that the changes will lead to companies being encouraged to invest more in new labour-saving equipment and in training.
Larry’s full article is here.
Priti Patel, the former home secretary, will definitely stand as a candidate in the Conservative leadership contest, Sky News has reported. Speaking in the Commons in the king’s speech debate, she said the Tories should be proud of their record in key areas. She said:
Much was advanced over the last 14 years and we’re proud of our record and the transformation that we led, including of public finances.
These are big things that don’t just happen over a few months and weeks, we’re proud we transformed the public finances from the government borrowing £1 in every £4 to a much better fiscal position today. It’s not easy to get into these fiscal positions and I think the benches opposite should just reflect in terms of the fiscal position they’re now inheriting.
Pension scheme shake-up may add £11,000 to retiree savings
The more than 15 million people who save into workplace pension schemes in the UK may benefit from a shake-up in the king’s speech designed to add £11,000 to the average retiree’s savings, Hilary Osborne reports.
This is from Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, on the king’s speech.
Labour’s King’s Speech is just more big state with the assumption that government can create wealth.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 17, 2024
Labour’s King’s Speech is just more big state with the assumption that government can create wealth.
And this is from Richard Tice, the deputy leader.
This Govt programme will lead to:
— Richard Tice MP 🇬🇧 (@TiceRichard) July 17, 2024
💥higher taxes
💥more bureaucracy
💥more regulation
💥more immigration
💥more expensive energy
My Boston & Skegness constituents will become poorer along with everyone elsepic.twitter.com/vlO0M2GgMA
This Govt programme will lead to:
💥higher taxes
💥more bureaucracy
💥more regulation
💥more immigration
💥more expensive energy
My Boston & Skegness constituents will become poorer along with everyone else
The party has not sent out a full press release about the announcements.
Updated
The government has confirmed that no further cash will be sent to Rwanda as part of the deportation deal signed by the last government.
As PA Media reports, asked about an additional £100m which had been due to go to Rwanda as part of the previous Tory government’s asylum scheme, the prime minister’s spokesperson told reporters:
Yes, we are clear that that money won’t be sent to Rwanda.
We’ve been very clear that the partnership with Rwanda has finished.
The home secretary’s going to provide an update shortly after she’s analysed all the details around both the money, the legislation and the processes.
We’re clear we will repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act, we will terminate the agreement.
Yvette Cooper’s update will also analyse “the existing legislation and how it interacts with the new legislation”, he said.
Health leaders hail Labour’s plans to phase out smoking as ‘gamechanging’
The government’s plans to introduce the world’s first full smoking ban, halt sales of energy drinks to children and modernise mental health laws are “gamechanging” and will save thousands of lives, health leaders have said. Andrew Gregory has the story.
In the Commons Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said he was “disappointed” that abolishing the two-child benefit cap did not feature in the king’s speech. He told MPs:
This is a policy – an iniquitous, heinous policy – which was introduced by the former Conservative government in 2015.
Each and every one of us in this chamber knows that it retains children in poverty – hundreds of thousands of children across these isles.
In Scotland alone, it impacts 27,000 households. It’s estimated that 14,000 children would immediately be taken out of poverty were it to be scrapped, but it was not mentioned in the government’s programme for government today.
Instead, all we have heard is that a taskforce is going to be created – no timeframe for that taskforce, no indication of when that taskforce will conclude, and all the while, those children will remain in poverty.
Truss complains to cabinet secretary about No 10 briefing describing botched mini-budget as 'disastrous'
The former prime minster Liz Truss has complained that her mini-budget is described as “disastrous” in the Downing Street briefing pack giving details of the bills in the king’s speech.
In a letter to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, she said:
It has been brought to my attention that the king’s speech background briefing notes published today and available online contain repeated references personally to me and actions undertaken by my government in the context of a political attack.
Not only is what is stated in the document untrue, making no reference to the LDI [liability driven investment] crisis precipitated by the Bank of England’s regulatory failures; but I regard it as a flagrant breach of the civil service code, since such personal and political attacks have no place in a document prepared by civil servants – an error made all the more egregious when the attack is allowed to masquerade in the document among ‘key facts’.
There is no government announcement in recent history, perhaps in all history, that has backfired as badly, economically and politically, as the mini-budget announced when Truss was prime minister. The financial markets were alarmed by the proposed £45bn unfunded tax cuts, borrowing costs started to soar and within days the Bank of England had to mount a multi-billion rescue effort to stop pension funds collapsing. Soon afterwards Truss started to ditch some of the measures. But the first big U-turn, and replacing her chancellor with someone willing to junk almost all the mini-budget measures, was not enough to restore her credibility and she was forced to resign.
The rise in interest rates led to a big rise in mortgage rates and Labour is responding by passing a law saying government will always have to consult the Office for Budget Responsibility when announcing significant tax changes – something Truss refused to do because she knew the OBR would criticise the mini-budget measures.
In its notes on the budget responsibility bill, the government says:
The ‘fiscal lock’ is intended to capture and prevent those announcements that could resemble the disastrous Liz Truss ‘mini budget’, announced on 23 September 2022, which would have cost £48bn per year by 2027/28, and was not subject to an OBR forecast and damaged Britain’s credibility with international lenders.
The Cabinet Office has not yet responded to Truss’s letter, but Truss will have a hard job persuading Case that she has been wronged. Although some economists argue that the mini-budget was not the only factor driving up borrowing costs at the time, and within months it was no longer right to say people who were paying more when they were remortgaging were doing so as a result of Truss, it is hard to find anyone at Westminster who does not regard the mini-budget as disastrous.
Truss can no longer complain as an MP. She had a majority of more than 24,000 in South West Norfolk, but lost it on a swing to Labour of 26%.
Updated
Theo Bertram, who worked as an adviser in Downing Street in the last Labour government and who now runs the Social Market Foundation thinktank, has posted a message on X saying he cannot see the point of the announcement this afternoon about the child poverty ministerial taskforce. (See 3.09pm.)
Hard to work out logic of this
— Theo Bertram (@theobertram) July 17, 2024
-Distracts from King's Speech
-Undermines No10 credibility: wobble at 1st rebellion
-A child poverty taskforce can only conclude 2 child cap must go (& cld do so immediately)
-Does it buy time? Yes but at cost of starting countdown clock on U-turn https://t.co/S0w83gDFPJ
Hard to work out logic of this
-Distracts from King’s Speech
-Undermines No10 credibility: wobble at 1st rebellion
-A child poverty taskforce can only conclude 2 child cap must go (& cld do so immediately)
-Does it buy time? Yes but at cost of starting countdown clock on U-turn
That prompted this reply from the writer and policy expert Sam Freedman.
I’ve never understood the point of turing this into a fight. No way it could ever hold.
Bertram replied:
The campaign logic was combination of:
1. threat of Tory attack on where £3.5bn spending commitment would come from
2. public opinion against it
3. fear of loss of credibility with markets
Some of those fears have clearly diminished now
And Freedman replied:
Agreed - but they could have been clearer they wanted the policy to go and removing it would be a priority when finances allowed.
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, is speaking now. He says, as MPs campaigned during the election, they heard constant complaints about nothing working. The public overwhelmingly rejected the Tories, he says.
But he says the scale of the problem is huge.
He says the Liberal Democrats will tell the government when they think it is wrong, but that if what it is doing is right, they will support it.
Starmer says he wants everyone, no matter where they started in life, to feel that success can belong to them.
The DUP’s Jim Shannon asks what Starmer’s plan is for Northern Ireland.
Starmer says it was important to him to go to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within days of becoming PM. He says he worked on reforming the police service in Northern Ireland. He says it matters to him.
Getting back to the king’s speech, he says the government will reform the NHS and schools.
And he confirms his intention to halve violence against women and girls. He refers to how inspired he was by the story of the parents of Jane Clough, who was killed by an ex-partner. He met them when he was director of public prosecutions, and he says their story brought home to him what public service can achieve.
Starmer says the government will serve everyone, whether they voted Labour or not.
And, addressing opposition MPs, he says, if they are invested in their areas, he will work with them in the best interests of those places. That is what service means, he says.
Starmer says countryside won't be neglected as Tory MP says rural and farming communities not mentioned in king's speech
Starmer says national renewal won’t be a “quick fix”. The rot of 14 years will take time to repair.
Graham Stuart, a Conservative, says there was no mention of rural or farming communities in the king’s speech. Can the PM reassure people living in these areas?
Starmer says he grew up in a rural community. If people look at the areas represented by Labour MPs, they should be reassured, he says.
Starmer says he wants to drive child poverty numbers down, but declines to give SNP pledge to abolish two-child cap
Starmer says a government of service “must also be a government of accountability and justice”. He says that is why the Hillsborough law is so important.
The Labour MP Sarah Owen rises to make an intervention. She asks for an assurance that Starmer takes child poverty seriously, and that he will address it.
Starmer says he takes it extremely serious. The last Labour government had a strategy to tackle this, and he has announced today a taskforce to address this.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Wesminster, intervenes. He asks how many children will remain in place while that taskforce undertakes its work. He says the taskforce will conclude the two-child benefit must be scrapped.
Starmer says he thinks all MPs want to address this problem. What matters is the commitment to address the number and to “drive those numbers down”.
Labour MP Sarah Owen asks Keir Starmer "what reassurances" he can give that he takes the issue of child poverty seriously and that government will address it
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 17, 2024
Follow live https://t.co/MQThvVqmwH pic.twitter.com/rXLkE3gCOQ
Updated
Starmer pays tribute to Peter Dowd and Florence Eshalomi for the speeches they gave at the start of the debate.
And he thanks Rishi Sunak for the tone of his speech, saying Sunak went “well beyond the usual standards of generosity”.
He confirms that the government will take up bills proposed by the last government, on football governance, smoking, the Holocaust memorial and Martyn’s law.
Figen Murray, Martyn’s mum, walked 200 miles to London to ensure that legislation was passed on venue security, he says. He says he met her, and will honour the promise made to her.
Starmer congratulates the England football team. He says he was talking about their performance in the Euros with Rishi Sunak when they walked to the Lords this morning.
From there, he moves on to his core political message – repeating the point made in his foreward to the king’s speech document about wanting politics to focus on service again. He more or less repeats the passage quoted earlier. (See 12.31pm.)
Starmer condemns attempt to kill Donald Trump, saying violence has no place in democracy
Keir Starmer is speaking now. He starts with a tribute to the king, but quickly moves on to Donald Trump. He says:
We also wish President Trump a speedy recovery from the appalling attempt on his life weekend.
I spoke with President Trump on Sunday night to pass our best wishes, but also to share our revulsion of the senseless violence which has no place in democracy.
Starmer says, from where he is standing now, he can see the plaque above the opposition benches commemorating Jo Cox, the Labour MP killed by a terrorist. He says he agrees with President Biden about the need to lower the temperature of political debate, so people can work through their disagreements and accept each other’s decency.
Updated
Sunak says Labour inherited an economy that was on an upward trajectory.
He says the government is implying that the state of the public finances is worse then it thought. But during the election campaign the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the books were open, and that it was clear what the situation was.
He says Labour cannot honestly claim that tax rises are needed because the finances are in a worse state than they thought. He says the Tories will hold Keir Starmer to his pledge on taxes he has said he won’t raise.
Sunak ends by saying, although the government has a big majority, it should seek cross-party support for constitutional reform.
On illegal migration, Sunak says he thinks that was a mistake for the government to abandon the Rwanda plan. Without a deterrent, more people will want to come to the UK, he says.
And, on legal migration, he urges the government to keep the measures the last government announced before the election, which he says will cut net migration over the next 12 months.
Sunak is now on the political part of his speech.
He welcomes the fact that the king’s speech includes plans for “Martyn’s law”, without mentioning the controversy he caused when he led Figen Murray, whose son Martyn was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing, that the new venue security law would be passed before the general election.
And he urges the government to fully commit to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
Sunak jokes about being 'elder statesman' at age of 44 following his election defeat
Back in the Commons Rishi Sunak is speaking now. He started with a tribute to the king, and to the late Tony Lloyd, the Labour MP who died in the last session. And he says all MPs will join him in deploring the attack on President Trump. (He is following US custom, where ex-Presidents continue to be addressed with the title President.)
Sunak is now paying tribute to Peter Dowd and Florence Eshalomi for the way they delivered their speeches. He is generous and funny about both of them (which is what is expected in this debate).
One of the MPs chosen to propose the loyal address is meant to be an old-timer, and the other is meant to be a younger one with a bright future ahead. Sunak tells Eshalomi the whips clearly think she will go far. Then he launches into a self-deprecatory joke.
If I may offer some words of advice to members opposite, on the government benches life comes at you fast. Soon you might be fortunate enough to be tapped on the shoulder and offered a junior ministerial role. Then you’ll find yourself attending cabinet, then in the cabinet. And then when the prime minister’s position becomes untenable, you might end up being called to the highest office. And before you know it, you have a bright future behind you. And you are left wondering whether you can credibly be an elder statesman at the age of 44.
Starmer sets up ministerial taskforce on child poverty, saying failure to tackle its causes has been 'completely unacceptable'
Downing Street has announced that Keir Starmer has set up a ministerial taskforce to develop a child poverty strategy. It will be led by Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary.
In a news released explaining how this will work, No 10 says:
A new child poverty unit in the Cabinet Office - bringing together expert officials from across government as well as external experts – will report into the taskforce. The new unit will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government to create an ambitious strategy.
Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, secretaries of state from across government will take part in this work, with the first meeting set to take place in the coming weeks.
In the immediate term, the taskforce is expected to consider how we can use levers related to household income as well as employment, housing, children’s health, childcare and education to improve children’s experiences and chances at life.
It also says that Kendall met organisations this morning to discuss child poverty, including Save the Children, Action for Children, Barnados, the TUC, End Child Poverty Coalition, the Resolution Foundation and Unicef. Kendall posted a picture from the meeting on X this morning.
This morning I convened experts and campaigners on child poverty to start work immediately on a new, ambitious child poverty strategy.
— Liz Kendall (@leicesterliz) July 17, 2024
We will work every day across government to reduce child poverty and give every child the best start in life. pic.twitter.com/oP2SAkoNxh
In a statement quoted in the news release, Keir Starmer says:
For too long children have been left behind, and no decisive action has been taken to address the root causes of poverty. This is completely unacceptable – no child should be left hungry, cold or have their future held back.
That’s why we’re prioritising work an ambitious child poverty strategy and my ministers will leave no stone unturned to give every child the very best start at life.
Presumably all the organisations Kendall consulted this morning told her the government should abolish the two-child benefit cap, because in the sector there is almost universal agreement that this is one of the single biggest measures that would make a difference to child poverty. The tasforce is certain to hear this message too.
Although ministers are still refusing to commit now to getting rid of the two-child benefit, because they cannot say yet how they would fund this, it is hard to imagine the government refusing to budge on this for another year given how strongly many Labour MPs feel about this.
Florence Eshalomi, the Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, is now seconding the loyal address. She was a shadow minister in opposition, but has not got a government job. If she is disappointed, she is hiding it well.
She says the Old Vic theatre is in her constituency. She says it is now showing a play about an MP who has James Corden as a constituent. But since Corden lives in California, perhaps he should get in touch with Rishi Sunak, she jokes.
Labour’s Peter Dowd, MP for Bootle, is opening the debate now. He is proposing the humble address to the king, thanking him for the king’s speech. He says he is not the first person in his family to be an MP – one of them also represented Bootle – but he is the first person in his family to move the loyal address, he says.
Hoyle says the ballot for deputy speakers will be held on Tuesday 23 July.
Lucy Powell, the leader of the Commons, moves a motion saying that, until full-time deputy speakers are elected, Sir Edward Leigh, Siobhain McDonagh and Christopher Chope. That is passed.
Hoyle also lists the subjects for debate during the king’s speech debate. Tomorrow it wil be foreign affairs and defence, on Friday it will be planning and the green belt, on Monday it will be the economy, welfare and public services, and on Tuesday it will be immigration.
Hoyle is now taking about security and safety. He says all MPs have a duty to be vigilant, and to think about the security of the building.
He also says he will do what he can to help MPs in their constituencies. He says they should follow the advice they get on security. He never wants to receive a call again about an MP being killed, he says.
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, starts with a statement about how MPs have to follow the Commons rules. It is a statement he has to make at the start of every session. He also makes a statement about the freedom of speech enjoyed by MPs, and he tells MPs it is their duty to be accurate in what they say in the chamber, and to correct the record when they make a mistake.
He says he does not have the power, as speaker, to policy the accuracy of what MPs say. He stresses that he is addressing this point to the media too. That is a reference to how he is often criticised for not challenging MPs when they say things that are misleading.
He tells MPs to be courteous to each other. And he encourages them to limit their use of mobile phones. They should be able to ask a question without reading it out, he says.
The Commons is sitting again, and MPs who have not taken the oath are doing so. Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds, and the Conservatives Geoffrey Cox and Andrew Murrison have just pledged their allegiance.
Measures in king's speech will do 'little to help' reduce child poverty, say campaigners
Campaigners and experts have said the measures in the king’s speech will do little to reduce child poverty.
Commenting on the legislative programme set out by the government, Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said:
The new government pledged an ambitious approach to tackling child poverty but there was little to help achieve that aim in the speech today. The two-child limit is the biggest driver of rising child poverty and teachers, struggling parents and even children themselves can testify to the harm the policy is causing to kids day in, day out.
All eyes will now be on government’s first budget, which must commit to scrapping this policy. Delaying its abolition will harm many more young lives and undercut the government’s poverty-reduction plans.
Aveek Bhattacharya, research director at the Social Market Foundation thinktank, said:
Despite growing pressure on the government to prioritise the issue, the word “poverty” was missing entirely in the king’s speech, and makes just four appearances across the 105 pages of background briefing notes. Expanding breakfast clubs and legislating for a smokefree generation are worthy ventures, but they hardly constitute an anti-poverty strategy.
Labour’s manifesto promised an ambitious child poverty strategy, and on that basis we might have expected new legislation to replace the last Labour government’s Child Poverty Act, which was scrapped in 2015. Instead, discontent around the two child benefit cap – a leading contributor to poverty – is only likely to grow in the months ahead.
If this is a statement of the government’s priorities, it does not augur well.
And Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
Child poverty is a blight on this country, and it is time for a total re-think of how we support disadvantaged students. Compared to overall government expenditure, removing the two-child limit costs very little and will lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty at a stroke. Introducing universal breakfast clubs is a step forward, but the aim should be free school meals for all pupils, which would result in a net benefit to the economy.
The government has said it will produce a plan to reduce child poverty. But that has not been published yet.
The main education components of the king’s speech, such as the intention to add VAT to private school fees and funding for free school breakfasts in England’s primary schools, were as expected.
The less well-known measures in the forthcoming children’s wellbeing bill include plans for councils to maintain “children not in school” registers – in effect a regional register of children being home educated.
Parents of children in state schools in England will be most directly affected by a new limit on “branded” uniform items that schools can require pupils to wear, in an effort to cut uniform costs, and by new powers for local authorities over admissions by academies. The latter will particularly affect applications for secondary school places, as most secondary schools are now academies, and in the difficult decisions for councils managing primary school closures as the number of infants continues to fall. Currently, academies in England can set their own admissions criteria within the limits of DfE regulations.
School leaders welcomed the measures, although Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said the bill only covers part of what the government could do “to repair the damage of the last 14 years”.
Here are four overall takes on the king’s speech from journalists and commentators.
From George Eaton at the New Statesman
The King's Speech is confirmation that this Labour government is the most interventionist and class-conscious since Harold Wilson's. https://t.co/4ZB6jC6ZU1
— George Eaton (@georgeeaton) July 17, 2024
The King’s Speech is confirmation that this Labour government is the most interventionist and class-conscious since Harold Wilson’s.
From Lewis Goodall from the News Agents podcast
No surprises in the King's Speech (there rarely are). Reemphasises two things a) this government will live or die on its theory that supply side measures in the economy can quickly boost growth b) that we have the most reflexively interventionist government for decades.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) July 17, 2024
No surprises in the King’s Speech (there rarely are). Reemphasises two things a) this government will live or die on its theory that supply side measures in the economy can quickly boost growth b) that we have the most reflexively interventionist government for decades.
From Sophy Ridge from Sky News
The King's Speech talks about devolution but for my money the key message is a more centralised and interventionist Gvt, that's prepared to be muscular pushing through planning/housebuilding, nationalising rail companies, a national curriculum & Gvt owned energy company
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) July 17, 2024
The King’s Speech talks about devolution but for my money the key message is a more centralised and interventionist Gvt, that’s prepared to be muscular pushing through planning/housebuilding, nationalising rail companies, a national curriculum & Gvt owned energy company
From Harry Cole from the Sun
King's Speech snap verdict:
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) July 17, 2024
BIG government is back...
Sir Keir Starmer has wasted no time on sweeping nationalisations and big interventions by the state.
The new PM's first King's Speech touches on almost every walk of life; from transport, to energy, to school uniforms and…
BIG government is back...
What's missing from king's speech?
Peter Walker has listed some of the main measures missing from the king’s speech.
Another former Conservative PM has posted on social media about the king’s speech but, unlike Liz Truss (see 1.35pm), Theresa May is positive – about at least one aspect of the programme. As prime minister she launched a review of the Mental Health Act 1983 that produced plans to modernise it. But the Tories were never able to turn these recommendations into law. Labour will now finish the job.
The inclusion of a new Mental Health Act in the King’s Speech is to be welcomed. The Wessely review in 2018 and successive @Conservatives governments have laid the groundwork for modernising the Act - I’m pleased this work will be continued by the new Government.
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) July 17, 2024
The inclusion of a new Mental Health Act in the King’s Speech is to be welcomed. The Wessely review in 2018 and successive @Conservatives governments have laid the groundwork for modernising the Act - I’m pleased this work will be continued by the new Government.
King's speech did not contain 'transformative programme' UK needs, says Green party
Adrian Ramsay, the Green party’s co-leader, has said the king’s speech won’t deliver the transformative change Britain needs. In a statement he said:
Labour promised change but today it has fallen short of the urgent transformative programme we need, and which the government has the power to deliver.
Our four Green MPs, and the nearly two million people who voted Green in the election, want to see a bolder Labour government that will invest in ambitious change, including to restore our essential public services and tackle the climate and nature emergencies.
We welcome the prime minister resetting the tone of politics as being about public service and there were some welcome announcements in the king’s speech, but Labour’s ambition will sadly be hampered for as long as they handcuff themselves with the Conservatives’ fiscal rules.
These are from Judith Moritz, the BBC’s North of England correspondence, on the significance of the Hillsborough law and Martyn’s law.
That both Hillsborough Law and Martyn’s Law have made it into the King’s Speech is a big moment for ‘people power’. I’ve covered the long-fought campaigns for both. There'll be huge relief from those involved who’ve sought to create legacy, after the loss of their loved ones.
— Judith Moritz (@JudithMoritz) July 17, 2024
That both Hillsborough Law and Martyn’s Law have made it into the King’s Speech is a big moment for ‘people power’. I’ve covered the long-fought campaigns for both. There’ll be huge relief from those involved who’ve sought to create legacy, after the loss of their loved ones.
Hillsborough Law has been demanded by families, survivors and their supporters since the Inquests in 2016 established that the fans were unlawfully killed.
They will be relieved to see that funding for familes and core participants at inquiries and inquests is included, though as ever, the devil may be in the detail here. A statutory duty of candour will be described as a ‘game changer’, re behaviour of public officials.
The speech includes a bill explicitly designed to protect Britain from another Liz Truss-style mini-budget. (See 11.36am.) The former PM has hit back by posting a statement on social media saying the measures in Labour’s legislative programme will expand the power of the state and lead to “further economic stagnation”.
My response to the King's Speech 👇 pic.twitter.com/9pu8nXGlFK
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) July 17, 2024
Truss also criticises five policies in particular. But four of them – the OBR, housing targets, a ban on conversion practices and the smoking ban – are initiatives that in the past have been favoured by her own party, or at least some of its leaders.
The SNP has complained that the speech contains “no plan to reverse the damage of Brexit”. (See 1.13pm.) But, in a story for the i, Arj Singh says there is a modest Brexit mitigation measure in the speech in the form of the product safety and metrology bill. According to the government, the bill will, among other measures, ensure “that the law can be updated to recognise new or updated EU product regulations, including the CE marking, where appropriate to prevent additional costs for businesses and provide regulatory stability”.
SNP dismisses king's speech as 'missed opportunity', highlighting 10 items it says were missing
But the SNP is much more critical. It has issued a statement complaining about 10 omissions from the king’s speech. It lists them as:
No plan to eradicate child poverty … no plan to tackle the cost of living … no plan to boost NHS funding or end austerity cuts … no plan to reverse the damage of Brexit … no plan to properly invest in green energy … no plan to abolish the House of Lords or deliver electoral reform … no plan to devolve powers to the Scottish parliament … no justice for WASPI women or Scottish pensioners … no migration plan or powers for Scotland … [and] no plan to recognise the Palestinian State or end arm sales to Israel.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said:
Keir Starmer has failed his first test in government. This timid legislative programme is a missed opportunity that failed to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised.
People in Scotland voted for clear and substantial change at Westminster, and the Labour government was handed a huge mandate to deliver it, so it’s bitterly disappointing that they have thrown that opportunity away.
The government would not accept this analysis. For example, the speech includes a bill to set up a new Great British Energy company funded with £8.3bn over the course of the parliament. The SNP claims this is not a proper plan for green investment because it says the government should be spending more.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has issued a relatively supportive comment on the king’s speech. He says:
After years of crisis and chaos under the Conservative party, it is clear our country faces enormous challenges. The Liberal Democrats will carefully scrutinise the government’s plans, striving hard to stand up for our constituents.
We will continue campaigning to fix the NHS, boosting GP numbers, tackling delays to cancer treatment and improving access to dentists and pharmacists.
We will make sure the voice of carers is heard, from increasing the carer’s allowance to the big challenge of fixing social care – so that our loved ones can get the support they need.
Nearly two thirds of the bills unveiled in the king’s speech will apply to Scotland, including new powers to protect public buildings from terror attacks, a new state-owned energy company and a gradual ban on all tobacco products.
Ian Murray, the new Scotland secretary, said the “bold and ambitious” legislative programme would “deliver for all four nations of the UK and all four corners of Scotland”.
The Scotland Office said 23 of the 40 bills unveiled would affect Scotland, although Murray confirmed the bill to phase out smoking and vaping would require legislation at Holyrood to take full effect in Scotland.
Many measures for England and Wales mimic reforms already introduced by Holyrood, including a community right to buy for unused buildings, nationalisation of rail services, and property ownership reform.
But UK ministers also plan on banning no-fault evictions south of the border – that power was temporarily in force in Scotland but has now been dropped.
The new national wealth fund proposal, which is expected to draw on taxes from North Sea oil and gas, has antagonised Scottish independence campaigners. They believe the UK should have invested oil receipts decades ago and enjoyed the rich rewards Norway’s oil fund has since produced.
Murray said:
[We] have been clear that we want to reset our relationship with the Scottish government, and to work together to deliver better outcomes for people. Our rail ownership bill will ensure that ScotRail is kept in public hands, and we want to work with the Scottish government to pass laws that will reduce the availability of addictive vapes to young people.
We promised change. This king’s speech demonstrates we are rolling up our sleeves and delivering that change.
Starmer says he wants to restore people's faith in politics by showing it's about service, not 'performance and self-interest'
The Downing Street briefing document on the king’s speech includes an introduction from Keir Starmer. In it, repeating language he used a lot during the election campaign, he says he wants to restore people’s faith in politics by showing that it can be about service, not “performance and self-interest”. He says:
This will be a government of service.
My government will be committed to uniting the country in our shared mission of national renewal. 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. It is only by serving the interests of working people, and delivering real change that transforms lives, that we can begin to restore people’s faith that politics can be a force for good.
Rebuilding our country will not happen overnight. The challenges we face require determined, patient work and serious solutions, rather than the temptation of the easy answer. The snake oil charm of populism may sound seductive, but it drives us into the dead end of further division and greater disappointment.
We will probably hear all this again in his speech later at the start of the debate.
Full list of 40 bills and draft bills in king's speech
The Downing Street briefing document about the king’s speech mentions 40 bills, many of which were not referred to by the king. Here is the full list.
The document sets them out by category, and I have used the No 10 category headings here (in bold text).
Full bills
Economic stability and growth
Budget Responsibility Bill
National Wealth Fund Bill
Pension Schemes Bill
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Employment Rights Bill
English Devolution Bill
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Better Buses Bill
Railways Bill
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
Arbitration Bill
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill
Great British Energy and clean energy superpower
Great British Energy Bill
The Crown Estate Bill
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
Water (Special Measures) Bill
Secure borders, cracking down on anti-social behaviour and take back our streets
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Crime and Policing Bill
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
Break down the barriers to opportunity
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
Skills England Bill
Renters’ Rights Bill
Football Governance Bill
Health
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Mental Health Bill
National security and serving the country
Hillsborough Law (this will be a bill, but No 10 has not said what it will be called)
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation (this involves repealing the Northern Ireland Troubles [Legacy and Reconciliation] Act, but the No 10 says repeal will require passing a new, replacement bill)
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
Holocaust Memorial Bill
Draft bills
Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
Updated
The Honourable Artillery Company performed a gun salute to mark the state opening.
And here is a picture of King Charles reading the speech.
And now the king is wrapping up.
Members of the House of Commons
Estimates for the public services will be laid before you.
My Lords and Members of the House of Commons
Other measures will be laid before you.
I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.
Analysis: The speech always ends like this. Public spending and tax are matters for the Commons, not the Lords, and that is why the line about the estimates is only addressed to MPs. The final line, about “other measures”, is the standard reminder that the king’s speech is only a starting point, and that over the next year or so the government is likely to introduce other measures not mentioned here. Normally that is not because they are holding things back, but because the world moves on, circumstances change, and at some point there will be urgent pressure for a new law.
Foreign policy comes right at the end.
My Government will ensure a strong defence based on the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Its commitment to NATO will remain unshakeable. It will maintain a strong Armed Forces, including the nuclear deterrent. To ensure that the United Kingdom’s defence capabilities are matched to the changing nature of global strategic threats, my Government will conduct a Strategic Defence Review.
My Government will continue to give its full support to Ukraine and its people and it will endeavour to play a leading role in providing Ukraine with a clear path to NATO membership.
My Government will seek to reset the relationship with European partners and work to improve the United Kingdom’s trade and investment relationship with the European Union. My Ministers will seek a new security pact to strengthen cooperation on the mutual threats faced by the United Kingdom and the European Union.
My Government will play its part in trying to secure long term peace and security in the Middle East. It is committed to a two state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
Later this week, my Government will host the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace. The Queen and I look forward to our Visit to Samoa alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October, and our Visit to Australia.
Analysis: Foreign policy does not need legislation, and so there are no bills referred to in this section. But the king has outlined the government’s headline pitch on key foreign policy issues.
Updated
And now it’s constitutional reform.
Measures to modernise the constitution will be introduced including House of Lords reform to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords [House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill]. My ministers will strengthen the integrity of elections and encourage wide participation in the democratic process.
The Government will propose a modernisation committee of the House of Commons which will be tasked with driving up standards, improving work practices and reforming procedures.
Analysis: Labour said it wanted to remove hereditary peers from the Lords quickly. But the speech does not include a commitment to lower the voting age to 16, only a generalised reference to widening participation in elections. This proposal was much criticised during the election, and campaigners will be worried the government is going off the idea. Government sources say that is not the case, and that a bill has been omitted because this is not a priority at this stage of the parliament.
He is now talking about devolution.
My Government will strengthen its work with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so that the best outcomes possible are delivered for citizens across the United Kingdom. My Ministers will establish a new Council of the Nations and Regions to renew opportunities for the Prime Minister, heads of devolved governments and mayors of combined authorities to collaborate with each other.
My Government will continue to support the political institutions and devolved government in Northern Ireland. In consultation with all parties, measures will be brought forward to begin the process of repealing and replacing the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 [Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation].
Analysis: The government wants to repeal the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which gives a partial amnesty to people who commited crimes during the Troubles. But it needs to pass new legislation to do this, so this counts as an extra bill.
The king is getting towards the end now.
My Government will take steps to help rebuild trust and foster respect. Legislation will be brought forward to introduce a duty of candour for public servants [Hillsborough Law]. A Bill will be introduced to establish a statutory Armed Forces Commissioner to act as a strong independent champion for our gallant Armed Forces and their families [Armed Forces Commissioner Bill].
Legislation on race equality will be published in draft to enshrine the full right to equal pay in law [Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill].
Analysis: The government has not said what the Hillsborough law will be called, but it does not just relate to the Hillsborough tragedy. It will impose a duty of candour on civil servants, which means they will have a legal duty to speak out about things going wrong. It is designed to prevent Hillsborough-style cover-ups.
We’re now on health.
My Government will improve the National Health Service as a service for all, providing care on the basis of need regardless of the ability to pay. It will seek to reduce the waiting times, focus on prevention and improve mental health provision for young people. It will ensure mental health is given the same attention and focus as physical health. My ministers will legislate to modernise the Mental Health Act so it is fit for the twenty first century [Mental Health Bill]. A Bill will be introduced to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes [Tobacco and Vapes Bill]. My Ministers will also legislate to restrict advertising of junk food to children along with the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to children. A draft Bill will be brought forward to ban conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill].
Analysis: During the election campaign Rishi Sunak claimed that one of his main achievements was getting support for a bill that would create a smoke-free generation, by gradually raising the age at which people are allowed to buy cigarettes. But he never actually passed his tobacco and vapes bill. Labour will now do it for him.
And renting comes next.
Legislation will be introduced to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including ending no fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession [Renters’ Rights Bill]. Draft legislation will be published on leasehold and commonhold reform [Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill].
A Bill will be introduced to establish an independent football regulator to ensure greater sustainability in the game and strengthen protections for fans [Football Governance Bill].
Analysis: These bills are unfinished business from the last parliament. The Tories promised to abolish no-fault evictions, but the bill that was supposed to do this was watered down, and then abandoned when the election was called. Labour is committed to its own version. It will also pass a version of football governance bill introduced earlier this year, which was also dropped when the election was called. The Tories did pass a Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, but it did not go as far as campaigners wanted in extending the rights of leaseholders and Labour will now take up the issue.
Now we’re on education.
My Ministers will seek to raise educational standards and break down barriers to opportunity. Action will be taken to get people back in employment following the impact of the pandemic. A Bill will be introduced to raise standards in education and promote children’s wellbeing [Children’s Wellbeing Bill]. Measures will be brought forward to remove the exemption from Value Added Tax for private school fees, which will enable the funding of six and a half thousand new teachers. My Government will establish Skills England which will have a new partnership with employers at its heart [Skills England Bill], and my Ministers will reform the apprenticeship levy.
Analysis: The Labour plan to impose VAT on private school fees was one of the manifesto promises most criticised in pro-Tory newspapers. The king is probably a Times or Telegraph reader, not a Guardian reader, and so he must have seen these stories. He sent his sons to Eton. But what he feels about the policy, we may never know.
Immigration, and crime, come next.
My Government will seek to strengthen the border and make streets safer. A Bill will be introduced to modernise the asylum and immigration system, establishing a new Border Security Command and delivering enhanced counter terror powers to tackle organised immigration crime [Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill]. Legislation will be brought forward to strengthen community policing, give the police greater powers to deal with anti social behaviour and strengthen support for victims [Crime and Policing Bill, Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill].
Measures will be introduced to improve the safety and security of public venues and help keep the British public safe from terrorism [Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill]. My Government will bring forward plans to halve violence against women and girls.
Analysis: The king may appreciate this passage too. The government has said it is abandoning the Rwanda policy, which the king reportedly described as “appalling” (before he succeeded to the throne). This passage refers to the new measures being put in place. But it is not clear if the government will actually repeal the laws passed by the Tories to implement the Rwanda policy, or whether it will just let it sit on the shelf and ignore it. The line about keeping venues safe is a reference to Martyn’s law, which was promised by Rishi Sunak.
The king might appreciate the next bit.
My Government recognises the urgency of the global climate challenge and the new job opportunities that can come from leading the development of the technologies of the future. It is committed to a clean energy transition which will lower energy bills for consumers over time. A Bill will be introduced to set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland, which will help accelerate investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind [Great British Energy Bill]. Legislation will be brought forward to help the country achieve energy independence and unlock investment in energy infrastructure. A Bill will be introduced to support sustainable aviation fuel production [Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill]. My Government recognises the need to improve water quality and a Bill will be introduced to strengthen the powers of the water regulator [Water (Special Measures) Bill].
Analysis: The king has taken a lifelong interest in the environment, and he may be pleased to see tackling the climate crisis get a prominent place in the speech. In the past it has tended to get less of a mention.
The king moves on to devolution.
My Government believes that greater devolution of decision making is at the heart of a modern dynamic economy and is a key driver of economic growth and my Ministers will introduce an English Devolution Bill [English Devolution Bill]. Legislation will be introduced to give new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities. This will support local growth plans that bring economic benefit to communities.
A Bill will be introduced to allow local leaders to take control of their local bus services [Better Buses Bill]. My Ministers will bring forward legislation to improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership [Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, Rail Reform Bill].
Taken together these policies 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.
Analysis: Labour wanted to call the English devolution bill the “take back control bill”, because it will give new powers to councils and mayors. Commons officials don’t allow bills to have titles that sound like political slogans, and that is why most of them have neutral, boring names. But for some reason the title “better buses bill” will be allowed. Perhaps that is because officials accepted that some buses services are so poor they could not get any worse?
Next, employment rights.
My Ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing [Planning and Infrastructure Bill]. They will also pursue sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies.
My Government is committed to making work pay and will legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights [Employment Rights Bill]. It will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.
Analysis: These are two of the most important bills in the programme. The government has been focusing on planning. (See 9.14am.) Trade unions will be studying what the government says about the employment rights bill closely to ensure that pre-election promises aren’t being watered down.
King says securing economic growth will be 'fundamental mission' for government
He starts with the economy.
Stability will be the cornerstone of my Government’s economic policy and every decision will be consistent with its fiscal rules. It will legislate to ensure that all significant tax and spending changes are subject to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility [Budget Responsibility Bill]. Bills will be brought forward to strengthen audit and corporate governance, alongside pension investment [Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, Pension Schemes Bill].
Securing economic growth will be a fundamental mission. My Government will seek a new partnership with both business and working people and help the country move on from the recent cost of living challenges by prioritising wealth creation for all communities. My Ministers will establish an Industrial Strategy Council. It is my Government’s objective to see rising living standards in all nations and regions in the United Kingdom.
Analysis: It is common now for law and order bills to be named after victims (there is one coming in the speech later), but the budget and responsibility bill ought to be named “Liz’s law”. This is the measure proposed by Rachel Reeves saying that OBR must assess any major fiscal announcement – to prevent a repeat what happened when Liz Truss presented her mini-budget without consulting it. Here is Labour using the legislative process to remind the public of how the Tories mismanaged the economy.
King Charles delivers king's speech
King Charles opens the speech.
(I’m quoting from the text of the speech released to journalists in advance. It includes, in bold, references to the bills the king is referring to.)
My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,
My Government will govern in service to the country.
My Government’s legislative programme will be mission led and based upon the principles of security, fairness and opportunity for all.
Analysis: The king is not meant to be party political, but the government is allowed to get him to read out a diluted version of its electoral pitch, and here is in part echoing Keir Starmer’s line about putting “country first, party second”. Starmer is also promising a “mission-driven government”.
Updated
The lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, presents the king with a copy of his speech.
Black Rod summons MPs, and now they are proceeding to the Lords. Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak walk side by side. It is always interesting to see if the two party leaders appear to be getting on, or if they are glowering at each other. Today it seems quite friendly. Starmer looks as if he’s having a high old time. Sunak was smiling, but perhaps with less sincerity. He can’t be enjoying this much.
Updated
In the Lords chamber King Charles has sat down on the throne. Camilla is sitting beside him. He tells peers they can sit down. And Black Rod (Sarah Clarke) sets off for the Commons to summon MPs.
It is not far – the two chambers are much closer than many people realise.
Anti-royalists were protesting as King Charles rode in his carriage to parliament.
In parliament Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, is arriving in the Commons chamber for the start of the ceremony.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived at the Houses of Parliament.
King Charles is wearing his Admiral of the Fleet Royal Naval Number 1 Dress with cap and sword, PA Media reports.
At least 10 members of Youth Demand arrested on suspicion of planning to disrupt state opening
At least 10 members of Youth Demand have been arrested in Westminster on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance after the protest group stated it planned to disrupt the state opening. This is from the Metropolitan police.
There’s a significant policing presence in central London ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) July 17, 2024
Last week, Youth Demand said they planned to disrupt the event.
An hour ago, officers arrested 10 of them in Westminster on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.
A… pic.twitter.com/tHowsvNZni
There’s a significant policing presence in central London ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.
Last week, Youth Demand said they planned to disrupt the event.
An hour ago, officers arrested 10 of them in Westminster on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.
A further 20 to 25 have now gathered in Victoria Embankment Gardens and further arrests are being made.
Youth Demand organised a protest at the Cenotaph on Monday about Gaza.
The Crown Regalia – the Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State – has left Buckingham Palace on their way to the House of Lords, PA Media reports. PA says:
The ancient symbols of royal authority are being ferried in a carriage, Queen Alexandra’s State Coach, drawn by four Bay Horses.
The Imperial State Crown – the famous symbol of the monarchy – is a working crown and worn by the monarch at State Openings of Parliament.
It contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, five rubies and more than 270 pearls and weighs more than a kilogram.
Among its jewels is the Black Prince’s Ruby – one of the late Queen’s favourite gems – as well as the Cullinan II diamond and a large oval sapphire known as the Stuart Sapphire.
Charles also wore the priceless crown on his return journey to the palace after his coronation, but he was crowned in the 17th century golden St Edward’s Crown.
Here are some pictures from the preparations for the state opening.
Rishi Sunak will speak in the debate this afternoon, and it will be the first time he has given a political speech since the day he resigned. (He did speak in the Commons last week when Lindsay Hoyle was elected speaker, but that was lighthearted.) According to extracts released overnight, he will say the Conservatives will hold the government to account for delivering the change they promised. He will say:
In the national interest, we will serve as an effective opposition. We will not oppose for the sake of it, but when we disagree with what the government is doing, it is our responsibility as the opposition to say so.
What will guide us will be our principles: sound public finances, a belief that people know how to spend their own money better than governments do, that private enterprise – not state intervention — is the key to delivering growth and prosperity. Public services that work for those who need them, an education system that gives everyone the best start in life, secure borders, and a strong national defence.
The party opposite tapped into the public’s desire for change. But they must now deliver change: and we on this side of the house will hold them accountable for delivering on the commitments they made to the British people.
The Labour party promised no tax rises on working people and no plans for tax rises beyond what’s in their manifesto, in full knowledge of the public finances. They can’t now claim that things are worse than they thought and renege on these pledges. We will hold the government to its own promises.
The Financial Times’ political commentator Stephen Bush is not impressed. He posted these on X.
I’ve said it before, but one reason why having a long leadership election is a mistake is that Rishi Sunak visibly has no plan for the intervening period beyond repeating lines that didn’t work in the election in worse circumstances.
“I see that you rightly did not believe my dividing lines on tax on 4 July. Well, what if I repeated them while also telling you that, actually, it is good that we are releasing people from prison early?”
Some new planning laws will be 'controversial', but government has mandate from election, says Pat McFadden
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister (chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster), was on the Today programme. He is now officially the fourth most important person in government (after Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves), and he defended the approach to planning being outlined in the speech. Here are the main points from his interviews.
McFadden said that some of Labour’s planning’s reforms would be “controversial”, but that the government had a mandate for these from the election. He told the Today programme:
We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.
That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.
But it’s reasonable for people to expect that, if we said that during the campaign, it’s what they see when the king’s speech is published later today.
He said it was a “myth” to say that building did not currently take place on the green belt. He told Times Radio:
It’s simply a myth to say that there are parts of what we call the green belt that haven’t been built on in recent years. And it’s been done in an uncontrolled way.
And we don’t want to sacrifice the beautiful parts of our countryside. But we do have to get things built in this country.
He said he accepted that some Labour MPs would object to new developments going ahead under the new rules. “You can have lots of fun in the next couple of years saying, here’s a Labour MP who doesn’t want this particular development. I know that will happen,” he told Times Radio. Asked if that amounted to hypocrisy, he replied:
I’m not predicting that everything we do is going to be opposed by MPs. But what I’m saying is in the real world, there’ll be some developments that some people don’t like, that’s always going to be the case.
If you are interested in the history of the state opening of parliament, the House of Commons library has published a good 72-page briefing on the history of the ceremony by David Torrance.
Housing plans likely to meet opposition from Labour MPs, says government
Plans for new housing are likely to meet local opposition from Labour MPs, the government has said, as Keir Starmer prepares to enforce mandatory targets within months. Jessica Elgot has the story.
Keir Starmer promises to ‘take the brakes off Britain’ in first king’s speech
Good morning. The last time we had a king’s/ queen’s speech after an election which saw one party voted out of office, and another take over, it was in 2010, when David Cameron was PM. You can read our liveblog of how it went here. The last time we had one under a Labour government was in 2009, when Gordon Brown was PM, and you can read about it here. The last time it was a Labour government presenting one for the first time was in 1997, which was so long ago that no one even knew what a liveblog was in those days.
There will be more than 35 bills in the speech today but Keir Starmer wants to focus on planning and growth, and this is what he said in a statement released overnight.
Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain. For too long people have been held back, their paths determined by where they came from – not their talents and hard work.
I am determined to create wealth for people up and down the country. It is the only way our country can progress, and my government is focused on supporting that aspiration.
The phrase “take the brakes off Britain” implies a general commitment to promote growth. But it also implies relaxing planning rules, and this is what the government said in its overnight briefing on this topic.
Getting Britain to build more housing and infrastructure, including through planning reform, will also be central to the government’s plans to strengthen economic growth.
The bill will speed up and streamline the planning process to build more homes of all tenures and accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects.
By enabling democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth.
Here is Kiran Stacey’s preview story.
Here is Archie Bland’s explanation of what is going on, in his First Edition newsletter.
And here is the timetable for the day.
11.25am: The Commons meets for the start of the state opening of parliament proceedings. They are summoned to the House of Lords where King Charles will deliver the king’s speech. When the speech is over, the government publishes a 100-page briefing document with details of all the proposed bills.
1pm: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2.30pm: The king’s speech debate starts in the Commons. After some brief, traditional ritual (included the introduction of the outlawries bill), the debate is opened by two government backbenchers chosen to propose and second the loyal address. This year it is Florence Eshalomi and Peter Dowd. Then Rishi Sunak speaks as leader of the opposition, followed by Keir Starmer as prime minister.
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