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.
The speech included bills on criminal justice, with plans for the “worst offenders” to be “kept behind bars for longer”, plans to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes and a system for the awarding of new oil and gas licences as part of Rishi Sunak’s drive to weaken net zero policies.
Much of the focus will fall on the King himself, as it is his first official State Opening of Parliament, and his known views about the environment. But given the state of the opinion polls, the Prime Minister will need some of that attention to himself. A year to go and he is running out of set-piece events to make his case to the country.
Bring HS2 to Euston
What is the point of buying land, laying down track and spending tens of billions of pounds to ferry passengers from Birmingham to Old Oak Common? North Acton is a fine part of town, but it is not a central London terminus.
The capital’s business chiefs are today warning the Government that any delay to the construction of the HS2 tunnel to Euston will drive costs even higher. At present, No 10 has declined to guarantee that the line will continue beyond Old Oak Common, unless private investment can be found to redevelop the Euston area.
Yet little appears to be happening. The Euston Partnership, grouping all the key stakeholders including the Mayor, National Rail and Transport for London, has not met since October 9 — five days after Sunak’s HS2 announcement. Getting HS2 to Euston is not a “nice to have”. It is mission-critical. From the Elizabeth Line to the Northern Line extension, we have seen the enormous benefits when the Government thinks big.
A new Street View
Never get lost at King’s Cross again. TfL has announced that some of the capital’s busiest Tube stations will soon be available to explore virtually via Google Street View.
With a few clicks of the mouse, passengers will be able to plan the best subterranean route to change trains or simply reach the outside world without inadvertently entering a 5k Parkrun.
