King’s Speech latest: Starmer priorities being revealed by King

Today is the state opening of parliament, and the King’s Speech.

These may seem like historical traditions that don’t have much bearing on day-to-day governing – but they actually do.

First though, let’s go through the timings of today.

Timings

11.20am is the first time to note – this is when the King is expected to arrive at parliament.

He will then head through to the House of Lords – and he is expected to take up his throne at 11.30am.

The King will then summon the Commons – at which point someone known as Black Rod goes to knock on the Commons’ door.

It is slammed in their face to demonstrate the Commons’ sovereignty… and then MPs will head to the Lords to watch the monarch deliver the speech anyway.

The King will then leave, and parliament heads off to debate the contents of the announcement – a process which will last until Thursday next week.

Why is the speech important?

According to the Institute for Government, “it is a test of a government’s ability to command the confidence of the Commons”.

This is because the debates and votes in the Commons can uncover ugly divisions in the ruling party.

Heading into the future, a bill being mentioned in the King’s Speech means it has extra significance when it comes to votes.

It’s worth noting, though, that a bill being mentioned does not mean it is immediately introduced, and it can be months – or even never – that it comes round to be debated and voted on.

A defeat on a mentioned bill is likely to be treated as a motion of confidence and could collapse the government.

While the convention is that the House of Lords will not oppose manifesto commitments, it would also be a bold decision for the upper chamber to vote repeatedly against a measure mentioned in the speech.