Keir Starmer’s government will set out its legislative agenda for this session of parliament in the king’s speech on Wednesday. The packed speech is expected to contain more than 30 bills, including measures to kickstart a national housebuilding programme, bolster workers’ rights, crack down on people-smuggling and add millions of voters to the electoral roll.
Democracy bill
The king’s speech is expected to include a democracy bill to introduce automatic voter registration. It may also seek to fulfil Labour’s manifesto commitment to reduce the UK voting age to 16.
There have also been discussions about a population-based boundary review, to redraw constituency boundaries to reflect their total populations rather than the number of registered voters who live there. Some experts and MPs argue that the existing system is unfair because it results in unbalanced constituencies, with inner-city MPs having to represent much larger populations.
Fiscal responsibility bill
The speech will include legislation to empower the economic watchdog to publish independent forecasts of major fiscal events. This is intended to avoid a repeat of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget in the autumn of 2022, which was delivered without an independent assessment from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility. Truss’s mini-budget contained billions in unfunded tax cuts, which triggered panic in the markets and led to a collapse in the value of the pound.
Housebuilding bill
Building more houses will be at the heart of the government’s agenda, and the king’s speech is expected to include a bill setting out how that will be achieved. In one of her first acts in government, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced plans to overhaul the planning system and reintroduce mandatory housing targets.
‘Take back control’ bill
One of the centrepieces of the speech will be a “take back control” bill – borrowing the evocative phrase used by the Brexit campaign – to devolve more power to local communities. Starmer has described this as a “full-fat approach” to devolution.
The legislation is expected to hand mayors and councils new powers over skills, energy, planning and transport, including the power to reinstate cancelled bus routes and set affordable fares. Labour has promised the most consequential changes in bus travel for a generation.
Workers’ rights bill
The speech will include the landmark workers’ rights bill, which Labour pledged to introduce in its first 100 days in office. The package of measures includes a crackdown on zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire practices, collective bargaining and flexible working rights and equal pay protections for minority ethnic and disabled workers.
Border security bill
The speech is expected to include a border security bill intended to tackle the issue of migrants and refugees crossing the Channel in small boats, and is expected to include proposals to empower authorities to treat people-smugglers like terrorists.
Crime and policing bill
The speech is expected to announce a crackdown on antisocial behaviour in a crime and policing bill. The government is expected to make criminal exploitation of a child a specific offence to tackle county lines drug smuggling.
Energy independence bill
An energy independence bill is likely to announce the creation of a new publicly owned energy company, GB Energy. The bill is intended to help the government meet its goal of establishing a UK electricity system fully based on clean power by 2030.
Railways bill
The speech is set to include a bill to enact Labour’s promise to nationalise the railways within five years. Under the plans, a new public body would inherit contracts when they expire and take on responsibility for running services.
Lords reform bill
In its manifesto, Labour promised to legislate to enact immediate reforms to the House of Lords before conducting a consultation on replacing it with a new upper chamber. A Lords reform bill in the king’s speech is expected to remove the rights of hereditary peers to sit and vote, and to introduce a mandatory retirement age of 80. Peers over 80 will be able to keep their places in the Lords until the next parliament.
As promised in Labour’s manifesto, the speech is expected to include a bill to establish an independent football regulator in England. This was a policy of Rishi Sunak’s government but was not enacted before the election.
Smoking ban bill
The speech is also expected to resurrect Sunak’s promised generational smoking ban, which will raise the legal age for buying tobacco products by a year every year.
Martyn’s law
The speech is expected to include Martyn’s law, requiring venues and local authorities to take steps to prepare for the possibility of a terror attack. It is named after Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack.
Hillsborough law
Labour’s manifesto pledged a Hillsborough law, which would introduce a statutory duty of candour on public servants during all forms of public inquiry and criminal investigation, and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths.
