Housebuilding, workers' rights and renationalising rail: the 40 new laws in the King's Speech
ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston looks at the key laws unveiled in the speech.
King Charles has delivered his first King’s speech under a Labour government at the state opening of parliament.
The speech included 40 new bills, as part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to “unlock growth and improve living standards for working people".
Among the raft of new legislation are plans to start renationalising the railways, reforming planning laws to boost housebuilding, and changing the bus system to give local authorities more power.
There are also new bills on workers' rights, tackling illegal migration, and securing clean energy.
Written by the government but read by the monarch, the speech represents the symbolic role of the King in the constitution.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Today’s new laws will take back control and lay the foundations of real change that this country is crying out for, creating wealth in every community and making people better off - supporting their ambitions, hopes and dreams.”
In a speech to Parliament, Starmer also warned that the “snake oil charm of populism” is a “dead end” for the UK. He said the Labour government will offer "a determined rebuilding, a patient rebuilding, a calm rebuilding".
The ceremony in Parliament featured historic traditions that are hundreds of years old, including one MP being held hostage and a bomb search in the cellars of Westminster.
Former PM Rishi Sunak responded to the speech saying "the party opposite has successfully tapped into the public's desire for change", but they "now must deliver that change".
"We on this side of the House will hold them accountable for the promises they made to the public", he said.
ITV News breaks down some of the new laws announced in the King’s Speech:
Housing
The new Labour government has put housing at the centre of their plans to change the country.
They’ve brought forward a number of measures to protect renters, including a strengthened version of the Renter’s Reform Bill. The Bill was progressively watered down by the previous government, and was also shelved before the end of the last parliament.
One of the central promises of the Bill was to end section 21 so-called no-fault evictions, which the government first committed to in 2019 under then Prime Minister Theresa May.
But the government made a number of concessions after pressure from landlord Tory MPs.
Investigations Editor Dan Hewitt speaks to struggling tenants and a landlord about Labour's reforms to rented housing
Labour have committed to abolishing section 21s, and empowering tenants to challenge “unreasonable” rent increases.
The government are also extending building safety rules for social tenants to private renters. Known as Awaab’s Law, the legislation was introduced after two-year-old Awaab Ishak died because of exposure to damp in his housing association flat.
Reforms to the planning system were also at the centre of the King’s Speech, as Labour seek to build 1.5 million new homes within five years.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will speed up the planning process to build more homes, and accelerate major infrastructure projects.
Former PM Sunak argued that Labour’s planning reforms could leave some people without a say, declaring: “A system that does not allow local people to have a say will damage public consent for more housing in the long term."
Housing charity Shelter welcomed the new Renters Rights Bill. But Chief Executive Polly Neate said there should be "clear limits to in-tenancy rent increases" so landlords looking to evict tenants for no valid reason cannot use "eyewatering rent hikes".
She added that "planning legislation must be focussed on delivering 90,000 social rent homes a year".
"Private developers will not deliver the target 1.5 million homes by themselves – councils need the means to build genuinely affordable homes too.
"Otherwise, their plans will fail, like countless governments before them, and homelessness will remain at a record high.”
Polly Neate, CEO at housing charity Shelter, is calling for 'rent stabilisation' - to prevent landlords from evicting tenants through rent hikes - and more social homes
Workers' rights
The government are also putting forward new legislation to better protect workers' rights.
The Employment Rights Bill includes measures such as a ban on “exploitative” zero hours contracts, banning fire and rehire, and also strengthening rights to sick pay and parental leave.
The plans have been labelled Labour’s ‘New Deal for Working People’, led by Deputy PM Angela Rayner.
The Bill will also remove "unneccesary restrictions on trade union activity".
Some unions have criticised Labour for watering down the plans, after a promise to outlaw all zero-hours contracts changed to only include “exploitative” ones.
General Secretary of the Unite Union Sharon Graham welcomed the new package on worker's rights, but said the government "must not allow a financial straightjacket to prevent real change."
Transport
The government have brought forward legislation to begin the process of renationalising the railways.
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill will bring the railways into public ownership once their contracts expire.
The government say the plans will “end the fragmentation of our railways, establishing a more efficient and reliable rail service for passengers”.
Another new transport law is the Railways Bill, which will see the creation of Great British Railway, a new body which will focus on improving services and reforming the ticketing system to make it simpler.
The King’s Speech also featured a Bill to reform the bus system. The Better Buses Bill will deliver new powers for local leaders to franchise local bus services and to lift the restriction on new publicly owned bus operators.
Devolution
The English Devolution Bill will give greater powers to local communities, allowing mayors and councils to have more control over planning, local transport and skills.
Under the Bill local leaders will also be able to formally ask for more powers from the government.
Starmer says the new law will “deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to transfer power out of Westminster and into our local communities, allowing them to take back control.”
GB Energy
A key part of Labour's manifesto was introducing GB Energy, a publicly owned energy company to be based in Scotland.
The Great British Energy Bill will be introduced to set up the new company, which won’t sell energy directly to consumers, but will instead invest in renewable energy protects and cut bills, according to the government.
Immigration
One of the government’s core missions is tackling the small boats crisis. They’ve introduced legislation to boost police powers, allowing them to tackle criminal gangs using counter terror laws.
The new powers will be introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, and the government are also setting up a Border Security Command - a specific law enforcement agency to crack down on smuggling gangs.
Starmer’s government have scrapped the controversial Rwanda scheme.
Crime
The Crime and Policing Bill will introduce tougher penalties for shoplifters and bring back more neighbourhood police.
The Bill will also bring forward Ronan’s Law, named after 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was murdered with a ninja sword bought online in 2022.
The new law will ban the online sale and possession of dangerous knives.
Starmer’s government are also expanding the powers of the police and fire inspectorate, and introducing more robust vetting standards.
ITV News unpacks the contents of the King's speech
Martyn’s Law
The new government have also revived Martyn’s Law, which will create tighter security at public venues, named after Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester Arena terror attack in 2017.
Martyn’s mother Figen Murray has campaigned tirelessly for the law, and said she felt “misled” by former PM Rishi Sunak after he promised to pass the Bill before the summer, but shortly afterwards called an election.
Under the new law, venues in the UK will need to have training requirements and a legal duty to produce preventative plans on terror attacks.
Education
The new government have also put forward the Children’s Wellbeing Bill which will introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school and create a duty on councils to maintain a register of children not in school.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic the number of children persistently absent has risen dramatically.
One of Labour’s most controversial policies is their plan to scrap the VAT tax break for private schools. They say they will use the money raised to pay for 6,500 new teachers in state schools.
It’s unlikely this will be implemented until the start of the school year in September 2025.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union said Labour needed to show "more ambition" on education.
“To address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, we will need to see more progress on the issues of untenable workloads and falling real-terms pay that are driving so many out of the profession", Kebede said.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the new government "will make sure education is right at the heart of everything we do."
Football governance
One of the Bills drafted by the last government that failed to make it through before the election was the Football Governance Bill.
Starmer’s government will now revive it, bringing in an independent football regulator.
The draft law will give powers to a body, which is separate from both government and football authorities, to license clubs in England's top five tiers.
First pitched nearly five years ago, it has been heralded as the possible solution to fixing "the game's broken financial model".
Smoking ban
Starmer has also revived a key Bill left over from the previous government, which will ban anyone born after 2009 from ever legally buying tobacco products.
Sunak’s flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill was shelved just after the election was called, after a number of Tory MPs expressed opposition to it saying the ban was unconservative.
Conversion therapy
A bill to ban so-called conversion therapy was also in the King’s Speech - reviving promises made under the Conservative government but were never delivered.
The ban will cover both gay conversion therapy and trans conversion therapy. The government say the new ban will be “fully trans-inclusive”.
In March 2022 then-PM Boris Johnson dropped plans for the legislation, then later decided to go ahead, but to exclude trans people from the ban.
In January 2023 the government reversed this, saying they would ban conversion therapy for "everyone", but the promise never happened.
Hillsborough
The King’s Speech also included the Hillsborough Law, introducing a “legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths.”
This will make public servants and agencies liable if they don’t tell the truth.
In December the government stopped short of implementing Hillsborough Law in its long-awaited response to a report into the experiences of the bereaved families.
Instead it signed up to a Hillsborough Charter, pledging to place the public interest above its own reputation, claiming a “Hillsborough Law” incorporating a legal duty of candour was not necessary.
Ninety-seven men, women and children died as a result of a crush on the terraces at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield on April 15 1989.
Reversing Northern Ireland Legacy Act
The Labour government will scrap the controversial Legacy Act, which was brought in by the last government to deal with the Troubles.
It ended Troubles inquests, barred future civil actions and gave conditional immunity to those prosecuted during the period - although this was later disapplied by a court ruling.
Number 10 said “the government is committed to addressing the legacy of the past in a way that can obtain the support of victims and survivors, and comply with our human rights obligations.”
What wasn’t in it?
Two child benefit cap
One thing that wasn't in the speech, but the government has been heavily criticised for, is a commitment to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap.
The cap, which restricts the ability of some families to claim benefits for more than two children came into effect in April 2017. Its critics say the policy has exacerbated the number of children in poverty in the UK - which now stands at 4.3 million.
Labour say finances are too tight to scrap the policy, but they will introduce a comprehensive child poverty strategy and a specific ministerial taskforce.
The government are already facing significant pressure from within the party over the benefit cap - MP Sarah Owen urged Starmer to give "assurances" that he takes child poverty seriously.
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called on the PM to "produce a timetable that within weeks we will scrap the two-child limit.”
Social care
The government have been criticised for not including a plan for social care in the King's Speech.
A survey commissioned by the the Liberal Democrats showed people want health, the NHS and social care to be the priority for the government more than any other issue.
An estimated 1.6 million elderly people in England aren’t getting the care they need and there are more than five million unpaid carers in England and Wales.
Labour says it’ll create a National Care Service to give a consistency of care across the country and introduce a Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care.
But the think tank the King’s Fund says Labour "largely dodges the issue of social care reform… best described as a plan to come up with a plan."
Reducing the voting age
In their manifesto Labour said they would reduce the voting age to 16 - a move which is likely to benefit the party in future elections.
But legislation on that didn't appear in the King's Speech, meaning it's not likely to be a change we see any time soon, but is still likely before the next election.
Charity UK Youth said they were disappointed the government didn't put forward a law on reducing the voting age in the King's Speech.
Jacob Diggle, UK Youth chief impact officer said: "The speech was an opportunity announce the introduction of votes at 16 – an easy win for engaging young people in democracy. There was cross-party support for this and we hoped the change could have been made before the local government elections in 2025"."
Age-capping the House of Lords
They also committed in their manifesto to phase out hereditary peers in the House of Lords by making Lords retire at 80, but the enforced age-cap wasn't in the King's Speech.
There was a Bill mentioned in the speech called the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which will mean that over time hereditary peers will no longer be able to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
Downing Street said there would need to be further legislation to enforce the retirement age of 80.
Spiking
There had been some media reports that the King's Speech would include a Bill to make drink spiking a specific criminal offence like Labour promised in their manifesto. But that didn't appear in the raft of new laws announced today.
The Labour manifesto said creating a specific offence for spiking would help more people report it and increase prosecutions.
Instead, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, the government say they will "strengthen the law to improve the police response to spiking."
The prime minister's spokesman said "we must do more to give victims of spiking confidence to come forward", and that the PM is "very clear about bringing forward" a specific offence.
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