Sir Keir Starmer vows to ‘get Britain building’ in King’s Speech
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Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “get Britain building” in Labour’s first King Speech in more than a decade.
The prime minister vowed to accelerate the delivery of more housing and infrastructure projects by changing existing planning laws – something that featured heavily in Labour’s general election campaign.
The King said: “My ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing [Planning and Infrastructure Bill].
“They will also pursue sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies.”
In her first speech as chancellor last week, Rachel Reeves set out Labour’s planning intentions when she announced she would reintroduce mandatory housing targets after they were dropped by the Conservatives.
The UK’s first ever female chancellor said the government would create a new taskforce “to accelerate stalled housing sites in our country”.
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She also promised her government would build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, as pledged in Labour’s manifesto.
The desire for economic growth – described as the prime minister’s “fundamental mission” – underpinned Sir Keir’s priorities for government.
“Stability will be the cornerstone of my government’s economic policy and every decision will be consistent with its fiscal rules,” the King said.
Reading out the prime minister’s agenda for the upcoming year, the King also said the government was “committed to making work pay” and would introduce its new deal for working people, where “exploitative practices” would be banned and employment rights enhanced.
Also high up the priority list was Sir Keir’s desire for greater devolution across the country, again with the aim of driving economic growth, by giving new powers to metro mayors and combined authorities – including by allowing mayors to take control of their local bus services.
Reforming the railways by bringing train operators into public ownership, a key pledge in Labour’s election-winning manifesto, also featured in the King’s Speech – Labour’s first since 2009.
The monarch said the prime minister’s programme for government would be “mission-led and based on the principles of security, fairness and opportunity for all”.
As well as introducing their own plans to apply VAT to private schools and set up the publicly owned clean energy firm Great British Energy, Labour also stuck with some measures the Conservatives had pledged to implement before the election removed them from power.
They include Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes, and the ban on no-fault evictions that the Tories aspired to but which became neutered in the face of backbench rebellion.
Members of the House of Lords and guests take their seats in the Lords Chamber. Pic: Reuters
Labour has also carried over the previous government’s bill to strengthen rights for renters, including by ending no-fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession. It will also continue the last government’s efforts to reform the leasehold and commonhold system.
However, new elements in the King’s Speech include a bill to “raise standards and promote children’s wellbeing” and the Mental Health Bill, which was dropped by the Conservatives in the former prime minister in his King’s Speech last year.
The King said the bill would ensure that mental health is given “the same attention and focus as physical health”.
Members of the House of Lords take their seats ahead of the King’s Speech. Pic: PA
Labour will also introduce legislation to “enshrine the full right to equal pay in law” through its Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
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Turning to historic scandals – including the infected blood scandal, the Post Office scandal and the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 – the King said Sir Keir would introduce a “duty of candour” for public servants in a bid to “help rebuild trust and foster respect”.
The Labour government’s approach to international issues was also laid out by the King, who said its commitment to NATO would remain “unshakeable” and that it would “endeavour to play a leading role” in providing Ukraine with a “clear path” to membership of the alliance.
Labour is also seeking to “reset” the relationship with the EU, the monarch said, with the aim of improving the UK’s trade and investment relationship with member states.
