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Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government has set out 40 bills intended to “take the brakes off Britain” in a King’s Speech that aims to boost growth while bringing in big changes to workers’ rights.
King Charles III arrived at Westminster on Wednesday for the state opening of parliament, which Starmer hopes will mark the start of a “decade of renewal” as he eyes at least two terms in office.
The prime minister hailed the measures as evidence that he is serious about promoting growth. Labour claims the package is bigger than the one introduced by Tony Blair’s new government in 1997.
“Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain,” he said. “I’m determined to create wealth for people up and down the country.” Major planning reforms form the centrepiece of the plan.
Starmer has been less vocal in recent days about a major employment rights bill that was the subject of much wrangling between the Labour leader and unions before the election.
Although the workers’ rights plans have been watered down, they could still represent the first flashpoint between Starmer’s government and business as the legislation moves through parliament.
Measures include banning “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, ending “fire and rehire” practices, improving access to parental leave and sick pay to new employees, strengthening statutory sick pay, and making flexible working the default from day one for all workers.
The bill will also make it easier for unions to take strike action by removing Conservative legislation from the past decade that imposed what Labour calls “unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity”.
King Charles’s appearance at the state opening marks the start of a parliament that could run until 2029. With a strong majority, Starmer hopes he can preside over a period of stability in Britain after the turmoil of the post-Brexit era.
The prime minister’s focus since his landslide election victory on July 4 — which has given him a working majority of 180 seats — has been on growth, including taking on “the blockers” of new housebuilding and infrastructure projects.
A planning and infrastructure bill will limit potential obstacles to new developments in designated areas. The government said it would “enable democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure is built”.
Some 15 bills are grouped under the heading “economic stability and growth”, and feature a draft measure on audit reform and corporate governance, including a revamped regulator after a series of scandals.
A pensions schemes bill will introduce changes to help “15mn people who save in private sector pension schemes get better outcomes from their pension assets”, releasing more cash for investment in the economy.
Other key measures include:
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The creation of a state-owned GB Energy group to back the green transition
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Devolved powers for English regions over economic development
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Powers to bring rail services under state control when franchises expire
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New legal powers for the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog
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A clampdown on polluting water companies and sanctions on bosses
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A bill to throw the remaining 92 hereditary peers out of the House of Lords
Starmer will also pick up three bills that were introduced by former prime minister Rishi Sunak but ran out of parliamentary time: a phased ban on smoking, reforms to give renters more rights, and the creation of a new football regulator in England.
Sunak, the Conservative party’s interim leader, has said he will provide “effective opposition” but would not attempt to block measures for party political reasons.
“The Labour party promised no tax rises on working people and no plans for tax rises beyond what’s in their manifesto, in full knowledge of the public finances,” Sunak said. “They can’t now claim that things are worse than they thought and renege on these pledges.”
A potentially more dangerous threat to Starmer comes not from the depleted Conservative party but from his own benches, over the two-child benefit cap — a Tory policy that Labour has not promised to reverse.
The Liberal Democrats are looking to put down an amendment to the King’s Speech to call for the cap to be removed. Some Labour MPs may be tempted to back such an amendment, which would also have the support of the Scottish National party, Greens and Reform UK.
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