What the King's Speech means for the year ahead

By Max Wilson

The King has opened Parliament and delivered a speech outlining the new Labour Government’s legislative agenda. The speech contained more than 30 proposed Bills and will form the basis for Labour’s legislative priorities in Parliament over the next year or two.

Some of the proposed Bills may not ultimately end up on the statute book and into law, and other Bills not mentioned today may end up being tabled, but today’s speech makes clear what Labour’s political and legislative priorities are. Those bills that are amongst the highest priority will likely be tabled and have their first readings before the summer recess – either in the Commons or in the Lords to get the ball rolling.

Many of the Bills had been widely trailed in the media in advance, including during the short campaign, so it was no surprise to see bills to push through GB energy, planning reform, empower the Office for Budgetary Responsibility, strengthen workers’ rights, establish border security command, nationalize railways and support sustainable aviation fuel.

Everything about this Labour government is about delivery, and particularly delivering on its ‘missions for government’. So, for example, the Energy Bill will be the mechanism through which Labour will establish GB energy and get it up and running to support more clean power and to cut bills.

In terms of the politics, Labour is continuing to frame itself against the last Tory government hence the Labour briefings about ‘taking the brakes off Britain’ and the ‘difficult inheritance’ that the new government now has. The politics of this speech are that Labour is getting on with the sensible business of governing by competently growing the economy and improving the lives of the British people, even if that does also involve taking forward some bills previously supported by the Conservatives.

There are a whole raft of policies covered in this speech, and in the coming weeks and months there will be plenty of opportunities to engage with the government about the detail of these bills. Many of these bills are ambitious and in nascent areas so the government will be wanting to engage with external experts who can advise on how to ensure that the final draft of the bills before they become law are fit for purpose.

If you are interested in engaging with the government then do get in touch with Whitehouse’s expert team, including experienced colleagues working in our Labour Engagement Forum.