What will be in Keir Starmer's first King's Speech and what does it mean?

16 July 2024, 13:54 | Updated: 17 July 2024, 00:56

King Charles is delivering his first Labour King's Speech on Wednesday, where he will reveal Labour's agenda for the next 12 months.

It'll be the first time we'll hear in detail about what from the party's manifesto will make it into legislation - and when.

And we've been told it will include a whopping 35 new bills, in line with the party's attempts to hit the ground running and get on with it, while their win is fresh in the minds of voters and new MPs.

Keir Starmer won't have long until the honeymoon is officially over after his win, and voters rightly start asking what the Government is actually doing to fix the NHS, schools, and the economy.

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So, what should we expect in Labour's first plan of action for the next 12 months?

First off, I'm told we shouldn't expect any surprises - with stability and restoring trust the flavour of the day.

Growth is expected to be a key focus, with a number of new laws focusing on how to drag Britain's GDP off the floor.

First up will be a new bill to enforce tough new spending rules, to strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility and Liz-Truss proof any future fiscal statements.

Will there be an emergency budget in September? That's the rumour in Westminster.

The Treasury say they'll set it out before Parliament breaks up - which suggests it may be a little earlier than planned, usually around November.

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Laws to formalise Great British Energy are also expected to be some of the first new bills out of the blocks, and more to loosen up rules around housing, planning and infrastructure and get Britain building.

A devolution bill will give more powers to the regions, and a crime and policing bill will clamp down on shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and spiking.

Last week Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested that Labour's plans for prisons would need new laws, and Starmer's been clear this is a domestic priority for him, so we expect that to be up there too.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's started the process of setting up Border Security Command, and we'll expect more on the new returns unit, immigration, and ending the Rwanda deal too.

Plans for a football regulator that got dropped by the last government are also expected, along with Rishi Sunak's plans to ban smoking for kids, and Martyn's Law, with new rules for venues to plan for terror attacks.

The government have promised to nationalise the railways within five years, with a new transport related bill expected.

Over the weekend newspaper reports revealed there will be a big education bill - with a council register for kids who have dropped off the radar, the new breakfast clubs for every school, more powers for Ofsted, and a requirement for schools to teach the curriculum.

Putting VAT on school fees should also come as part of a finance bill, but that's not likely to come into force until next year.

A workers' rights package is expected too, with moves on zero-hours contracts, and fire and rehire promised within the first 100 days.

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Reports this week have also claimed the PM is looking to bring in the first laws to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence too - to force companies to abide by rules around using the tools.

Plans for reforming the House of Lords, a tax evasion crackdown, help for renters and plans to hold water companies accountable are also on the table.

With so much in Labour's manifesto, it's unlikely that they'll get all of this done in the first year or so.

But with a huge majority and 411 MPs, Labour aren't likely to see many rebellions they won't be able to face down.

One where they could, however, is over the two-child benefit limit.

The SNP have said they'll break with convention and bring a vote on it to the King's Speech - will any MPs on the left join with them? Watch this space.

For Starmer, who has avoided much of the detail around his plans for the entire election campaign, tomorrow is where the devil in the detail will finally start to emerge.

What will be in it?

CONFIRMED

1. A bill to enforce tough new spending rules - to strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility
   
2. Housing and infrastructure - mandatory housing targets returned, ripping up of planning rules to build more homes
   
3. Transport - to nationalise railways within 5 years
   
4. Setting up GB energy - clean power by 2030, more renewable energy
   
5. Devolution/take back control bill - hand the power back to local leaders, a new statutory requirement for Local Growth Plans that cover towns and cities across the country, new powers over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support
   
6. Football governance bill - a new football regulator, to put fans at heart of the game
   
7. Crime and Policing Bill - anti social behaviour crackdown, scrap the £200 rule which sees some shoplifting offences not investigated, spiking crackdown
   
8. Prisons - extending early release scheme and other measures to control prison population
   
9. Border Security and immigration - new counter-terror powers, new joined up working with MI5/6, Border Force, Home Office, more investigators and intelligence officers, formally ending Rwanda, new security agreement with the EU, more caseworkers to end backlog, new returns and enforcement unit, reform the points-based immigration system so that it is fair and properly managed, with appropriate restrictions on visas, and by linking immigration and skills policy, strengthen the Migration Advisory Committee
   
10. Education Bill - a council register for lost kids, breakfast clubs in every school, a legal cap for how many uniform items can be branded, more powers for Ofsted, requirement for schools to teach the curriculum
    
11. Voter registration - lower the voting age to 16
    
12. VAT on school fees
    
13. Workers’ Rights Bill - a crackdown on fire and rehire and zero hours contracts
    
14. AI bill - guardrails on AI, a new Regulatory Innovation Office, to help regulators update regulation, speed up approval timelines, banning the creation of sexually explicit deep fakes
    
15. Cyber Security Bill
    
16. Smoking - raise the age at which people can buy cigarettes increased by one year every year
    
17. Martyn’s Law - to force venues to come up with terror attack plans
    

LIKELY

1. Lords Reform - 80 year old peers but not to come into play until end of Parliament
   
2. Sewage/water - fining water firms and making them personally responsible, facing fines
   
3. Tax avoidance crackdown and non dom loopholes - to modernise HMRC, strengthen powers, new technology, crack down on wealthy and large businesses, end use of offshore trusts to avoid inheritance tax
   
4. Renters bill - scrapping section 21, leasehold reform
   
5. Employment - Work Capability Assessment shake-up and reform