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A generational shift in British political priorities has been delivered in the first King’s speech by a Labour government for 14 years.
Sir Keir Starmer campaigned during the election with a promise that he will “change the country” like he changed the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn and set out today how he intends to achieve this.
During Tory rule, the focus had been on the baby boomer generation protecting pensions and home ownership.
But in a King’s Speech which referenced 35 bills, Starmer’s Labour has put the focus on “generation rent” as he pledged to “take the brakes off Britain” with plans to break the deadlock on affordable housing, protections for renters, restoration of workplace rights and a push to restore trust in British institutions.
The shift comes with recent figures showing that less than a third of people under the age of 45 now own their own home or have a mortgage, bringing in a new set of challenges which saw support for the Tories among younger voters collapse.
On a day of traditional pageantry with the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla for the state opening of Parliament, Sir Keir’s programme for government aimed to shift Britain’s focus to the future and modernising the country.
The King's Speech ran to 1,421 words, making it the longest monarch's speech at a State Opening of Parliament since 2003. Among the key items were:
- A renters reform bill to end no fault evictions, strengthen tenant rights and bring in rent controls.
- A planning and infrastructure bill to end the gridlock on getting new homes built forcing huge hikes in the cost of new homes and rents.
- An employment rights bill ending exploitative contracts, hire and fire practices and restoring the rights of people to take industrial action over pay and conditions.
- An English devolution bill to further empower communities in England to make decisions for themselves on economic development and transport.
- An overhaul of transport with legislation to nationalise rail services and improve bus services to deliver economic growth.
At the heart of the speech was a drive for wealth creation to pay for the public services which Labour wants to deliver for the country.
They hope the new planning laws will help unleash Britain’s economic potential which has been held back by local objections to housing and infrastructure projects slowing down development.
But the King’s Speech also contained a number of pitfalls with details yet to emerge how rental reform can be delivered without a collapse in the number of properties available in the rental market.
New Labour MPs are also concerned about a lack of movement on ending the two child benefit cap which has been linked to child poverty and is even opposed by rightwingers such as Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.
Added to that the voices of loud protesters outside underlined anger over a lack of a mention or policy on bringing an end to the war in Gaza.
For those who fear Sir Keir is not being leftwing enough, he will point to his nationalisation of rail plan and intention to kick hereditary peers out of the Lords.
In the face of rising populism in the UK, America and Europe, the prime minister has also prioritised restoring trust in British institutions with a duty of candour to be introduced for civil servants and others in the wake of the post office Horizon, Hillsborough and infected blood scandals.
He also will extend the powers of the Office of Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) to ensure no more Liz Truss style mini budget catastrophes happen again.
Labour vowed in its manifesto to bring in laws named after Manchester Arena bombing victim Martyn Hett amid a row over years of delays in introducing the legislation.
And a new football regulator will attempt to bring order and transparency to Britain’s most popular sport.
Trade union leaders today welcomed the push to introduce new employment rights in the first 100 days of government.
The government said the measures represent the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation and will improve the lives of working people across the country, stressing that ministers will work in partnership with unions and business.
TUC president and Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “The steadfast commitment to start delivery of the New Deal for Working People within 100 days will significantly improve the lives of workers after 14 years of vicious anti trade union legislation from the Tories.
"The stated urgency to deliver on Labour's plan to repeal the Minimum Service Levels bill, which effectively bans firefighters and other key workers going on strike to defend their jobs and wages, as part of that package is particularly welcome.
"The commitment to increase the living wage as part of the New Deal for Working People is also hugely welcome and must be reflected in pay offers made to firefighters and other public sector workers after a decade and a half of severe wage restraint."
There has also been a welcome for Sir Keir sticking to his plan to create Great British Energy to deliver investment and keep the cost of bills down.
Glynn Williams, UK managing director of pump firm Grundfos, said: “The announcement of the new GB Energy firm is an opportunity to fast track the UK’s clean power goals, and ultimately deliver cost savings for households and businesses across the country.
“While the beneficial effects of the clean power scheme are apparent, the government must simultaneously recognise the low-hanging fruit solutions already within reach to help cut energy bills fast, by focusing on providing energy efficiency. Lack of awareness around how to optimise heating systems, such as through hydraulic balancing or replacement of old circulator pumps, costs households and businesses a combined £3.1 billion each year. In the coming months we therefore hope to see regulation and funding that goes beyond insulation-based improvements.
“The principle behind the GB Energy green power investment is absolutely right – the public and private sectors should work together to solve the country’s issues. Nowhere is this more clearly needed, though, than on the issue of energy efficiency.”
Tina Paillet, president of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said that planning reform could open up new opportunities for the country.
She said: “Today’s King’s Speech is yet another step in the right direction from Labour policymakers, who have pledged to ‘take the brakes off Britain’ by introducing an ambitious legislative agenda which will get the UK building again, improve living standards, and help deliver the infrastructure to power a net-zero economy.”
Sir Keir has also picked up some of Rishi Sunak’s legacy including reviving plans to phase out smoking and impose restrictions on the sale and marketing of vapes to children.
The King’s speech noted that this will be “a service led government” and Sir Keir made a specific invitation to “work with anybody whatever rosette they wore” to deliver change in the UK.
The Law Society welcomed plans to modernise the immigration system and drop the Rwanda deportation scheme pushed by the Tories.
But there was a warning on rental reform.
The National Residential Landlords Association said: “With an average of 15 households chasing every available home to rent it is vital that rental reform does not make an already serious supply crisis in the private rented sector worse.”
