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.
Key events
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
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.
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.
