Britain’s King Charles has set out Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda, promising a government of service focused on reviving the economy and tackling issues from an acute housing shortage to a cost-of-living crisis.
In a ceremony full of pageantry, before an audience of robed lords and lawmakers, Charles read out the laws the government is prioritising after Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party won a large majority at this month’s election.
“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,” the king said in a speech to hundreds of lawmakers and scarlet-robed members of the House of Lords.
The official “King’s Speech”, written by the government, also tried to set a new tone for British politics, promoting service rather than self-interest, something that Labour says took root over 14 years of often-chaotic Conservative Party rule.
Starmer won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history on July 4.
But he faces a number of daunting challenges, including improving struggling public services with little room for more spending.
In an introduction to the proposed legislation, Starmer announced “the era of politics as performance and self-interest above service is over”.
Rebuilding our country will not happen overnight. The challenges we face require determined, patient work and serious solutions,” he wrote.
“We will unlock growth and take the brakes off Britain, turning the page for good on the economic irresponsibility and pervasive inability to face the future that we saw under the Conservative government.”
What did the speech say?
Wednesday’s speech included 40 bills – the Conservatives’ last speech had just 21 – that addressed issues ranging from housebuilding to nationalising Britain’s railways and decarbonising the nation’s power supply with a publicly owned green electricity firm, Great British Energy.
The government said it would “get Britain building”, setting up a National Wealth Fund and rewriting planning rules that stop new homes and infrastructure from being built.
Economic measures included tighter rules governing corporations and a law to ensure all government budgets get advanced independent scrutiny. The government promised stronger protections for workers, with a ban on some “zero-hours” contracts and a higher minimum wage for many employees.
Also announced were protections for renters against shoddy housing, sudden eviction and landlords who won’t let them have a pet.
Regarding the UK’s border security, the speech charted out new measures including creating a beefed-up Border Security Command with “counterterrorism” powers to tackle people-smuggling gangs.
The urgency of the global climate challenge was also recognised in the speech – a change in tone from the Conservative government’s emphasis on oil and gas exploration.
Moreover, the speech confirmed that the government wants to “reset the relationship with European partners” roiled by Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020 and said there would be no change to Britain’s strong support for Ukraine.
It is a goal Starmer can work towards when he hosts a meeting of the European Political Community, a group of more than 40 states formed in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.