New UK government announces ‘national renewal’ legislation and Parliament opens with royal pomp

LONDON — Britain’s new Labour government promised to calm the country’s tense political situation and ease the cost of living crisis by setting out plans for “national renewal” at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

Stabilising the UK’s public finances and boosting economic growth are at the heart of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s legislative programme, announced in a speech written by government officials and delivered by King Charles III.

“My government will seek to forge new partnerships with both businesses and working people and help the country address its lasting cost of living challenges by prioritising wealth creation for all communities,” the king said in a speech to hundreds of lawmakers and members of the House of Lords in scarlet robes.

Starmer, who has moved his left-wing party towards the centre since becoming Labour leader in 2020, has campaigned on promises of bold change for Britain at modest cost to taxpayers. He aims to be both pro-worker and pro-business, championing massive new construction projects and environmental protections. There is a risk he may end up pleasing no one.

In a written introduction to the speech, Starmer called for patience, saying change would require “determined, patient work and serious solutions” rather than easy answers and the “wonderful charm of populism”.

The Royal Speech is the centerpiece of the opening ceremony, where royal pomp meets hard-line politics. The King dons a diamond-studded crown, sits on a gilded throne, and announces the laws his government plans to pass next year.

Labour won a landslide election victory on July 4 as voters turned against the Conservatives after years of high inflation, ethics scandals and a turnover of prime ministers. Starmer promised to fix the country’s ageing infrastructure and frayed public services, but said he would not raise personal taxes and insisted any changes would be constrained by “unbreakable fiscal rules”.

But he clearly believes in an active role for the state in public life. Wednesday’s speech included 40 pieces of legislation – the Conservatives’ last speech had just 21 – from housing to nationalising Britain’s railways and decarbonising the country’s energy supply with a publicly owned green energy company, Great British Energy.

The government has said it will “make Britain build”, setting up a National Prosperity Fund and changing planning rules that prevent new homes and infrastructure from being built.

The economic measures included tougher rules on corporations and a law to ensure all government budgets are subject to independent scrutiny, aimed at avoiding a repeat of the chaos unleashed in 2022 by then-prime minister Liz Truss, whose package of no-cost tax cuts rocked the British economy and ended her brief term in office.

The government has promised stronger protections for workers, a ban on some zero-hours contracts and a higher minimum wage for many workers. It has also announced protections for tenants against shoddy housing, sudden evictions and landlords who don’t let them have pets.

The government has promised more powers for local governments and better bus and train services – key to “levelling up” the London-UK economy that former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson promised but largely failed to deliver.

Although Starmer has avoided large-scale nationalisation of the industry, the government plans to take delay-hit train operators into state ownership.

Unions and business groups have greeted the economic announcements with cautious enthusiasm. Gary Smith, leader of the GMB union, called the speech a “breath of fresh air”. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, a business group, said it “sets out an agenda for the big choices and bold moves needed to change the course of the economy”.

The speech said the government “recognises the urgency of the global climate challenge” — a change of tone from the Conservative government’s emphasis on oil and gas exploration. As well as boosting renewable energy, the government has promised tougher penalties for water companies that dump sewage into rivers, lakes and seas.

The speech outlined new measures to bolster border security, including the creation of a strengthened Border Protection Command that will have counter-terrorism powers and will tackle people-smuggling gangs.

The move follows Starmer’s decision to scrap the Conservatives’ controversial and unrealised plan to send people arriving in the UK via the English Channel on a one-way journey to Rwanda.

The speech also touched on an issue that has baffled previous governments: reform of the House of Lords. The unelected upper house of parliament is packed with almost 800 members – mostly life-long political appointees but including almost 100 hereditary nobles. The government said it would remove the “outdated and indefensible” presence of hereditary nobles, although it made no mention of Labour’s promise to make the Lords’ retirement age 80.

There was also no mention of a commitment to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, although the government still plans to do so before the next election.

While Starmer’s agenda marks a break with the failed Conservative government of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, it has resurrected Sunak’s plan to stop future generations smoking by gradually raising the minimum age for buying tobacco.

The speech confirmed the government wanted to “reset relationships with European partners” that were shaken by the UK’s departure from the European Union in 2020, and said the UK’s strong support for Ukraine would remain unchanged.

The king travelled from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in a horse-drawn carriage – passing a small group of anti-monarchy protesters holding banners reading “Down with the Crown” – before donning ceremonial robes and the Imperial State Crown to deliver a speech. Police said 10 members of the environmental activist group were arrested near Parliament for allegedly planning to disrupt the ceremony.

Despite its royal attributes, it is a royal speech in name only. The words are written by government officials, and the monarch betrayed no trace of emotion as he read them.

“The king has no influence on this,” said Jill Rutter, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Government think tank.