The King’s Speech is delivered by the King but written by a government minister and opens a new session of Parliament.
Below are some of the government’s key policy plans:
Planning reform
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will aim to simplify the approval process for major infrastructure projects by increasing the number of homes built each year and reducing the time it takes to obtain planning permission.
The government suggested the planning bill would limit local people’s ability to block new development, saying there would be “democratic engagement on how homes and infrastructure are built, not whether”.
Workers’ rights
The Employment Rights Bill would strengthen workers’ rights by banning companies from forcing zero-hours contracts on them, outlawing fire-and-rehire tactics, and providing parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal for all workers. The bill would also make it illegal to fire a woman who gives birth within six months of returning to work, except in certain circumstances, and make flexible working the default when people take up employment. Economic safeguards
The Budget Responsibility Bill would ensure that governments making significant tax and spending changes are subject to independent forecasts by the official budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
This is to avoid a repeat of former Chancellor Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-Budget, a $50 billion package of unfunded tax cuts that was delivered without any independent evaluation and caused a financial market collapse.
Illegal immigration
The government wants to pass new border security legislation giving law enforcement anti-terrorism powers to target gangs who bring tens of thousands of people to the UK on small boats each year.
These include increased stop-and-frisk powers for border officers and tougher penalties for advertising people smuggling. Labour has reversed plans made by the former Conservative government to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Housing Reform
Tenants would be able to challenge unfair rent increases. The Tenants Bill of Rights would eliminate no-fault evictions, end “rental bidding wars,” and make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against families with children and welfare recipients.
Financial Regulation
The government’s new Finance Bill aims to encourage the consolidation of small pension schemes, improve the rescue process for failed banks by expanding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and give new powers to the new audit regulator.
Climate and Energy
The government is set to pass legislation to set up GB Energy, a centre for green energy plans, with an 8.3 billion pound ($11 billion) fund to pool investments in advanced technologies and support capital-intensive projects.
Railway
It would put rail franchises back under government control when private contracts expire and aim to improve connectivity between the east and west of the north of England, but would not reopen the high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Manchester.
Constitutional amendment
As part of plans to reform Parliament’s upper house, the House of Lords, hereditary peers, whose seats and voting rights have been passed down indefinitely without election, will be stripped of their seats. There are 92 hereditary peers out of more than 800 members.
Crime and Punishment
The new Crime and Police Bill aims to introduce a ban on so-called “ninja swords”, crack down on shoplifting and target those involved in public harassment and drinking.
Cybersecurity
The Cyber ​​Security and Resilience Bill would update UK regulations in a similar way to the EU’s proposed Cyber ​​Resilience Act, making companies report incidents, including ransomware incidents, and requiring them to provide more data on cyber attacks.
Delegation of authority
England’s devolution bill would give mayors and other local leaders more say over decisions about the economy, including transport and jobs.
Britain has a higher concentration of power than other large economies, with many funding decisions made in London, and the government says further devolution will lead to higher productivity and more balanced economic growth.
Conversion Therapy
The bill would ban so-called conversion therapy, which targets lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and aims to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill, which would see the government introduce a similar bill, says any ban should not target legitimate psychological support for people exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.
smoking
The government plans to phase out the sale of tobacco, as first announced by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, with the proposed legislation meaning that children born after 1 January 2009 would no longer be able to legally buy cigarettes.
Private Schools
Labour plans to scrap some of the tax breaks given to fee-paying schools and use the money to improve standards in state schools.
