The full pomp and ceremony of the British state was on display today for the King’s Speech, the first since 1951. But behind the theatre — from Black Rod to bejeweled crowns — is, the Government must hope, a political shop window.
With perhaps 12 months until the general election, the realities of the tight parliamentary timetable dictate that these bills are unlikely to become law. But the Prime Minister will see value in communicating a message of what a Conservative government under his leadership can do, and reinforcing some clear dividing lines between himself and Keir Starmer.
