King’s Speech to unlock growth and “take the brakes off Britain”


Improving living standards for working people through economic growth will be the central focus of new laws set to be unveiled by His Majesty The King today

  • King’s Speech set to unveil a raft of bills to unlock growth and improve living standards for working people 
  • Ambitious legislative agenda will drive forward delivery of the government’s first steps and missions to rebuild Britain
  • New laws deliver manifesto commitments to provide better transport, more jobs and turbocharge building of houses and infrastructure

Improving living standards for working people through economic growth will be the central focus of new laws set to be unveiled by His Majesty The King today [Wednesday 17 July].

In the first State Opening of Parliament under this government, The King’s Speech is expected to unveil over 35 bills and draft bills which will support delivery of the government’s first steps and missions to rebuild Britain. 

The package of bills will focus on growing the economy through better transport, more jobs and turbocharging building of houses and infrastructure – helping to make every part of the country better off.  

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain. For too long people have been held back, their paths determined by where they came from – not their talents and hard work. 

“I am determined to create wealth for people up and down the country. It is the only way our country can progress, and my government is focussed on supporting that aspiration. 

“Today’s new laws will take back control and lay the foundations of real change that this country is crying out for, creating wealth in every community and making people better off – supporting their ambitions, hopes and dreams.”

Transport 

New legislation will be introduced to create a simplified rail system by bringing rail services into public ownership once their contracts expire or if operators fail to deliver on their commitments. This approach will avoid the burden falling on taxpayers to cough up for compensation to operators for taking services into public ownership. 

Transferring operations to the public sector will save the taxpayer millions of pounds currently paid out in fees to private operators each year. It will end the fragmentation of our railways, establishing a more efficient and reliable rail service for passengers – helping to get people to work on time and boosting productivity.

The government will also introduce legislation to establish a new public body, Great British Railways (GBR) which will be focused on improving services and creating better value for money for passengers.

With Great British Railways, the fares and ticketing system will see simplified fares, discounts, and ticket types. Once established, the new body will also ensure that ticketing innovations like automatic compensation, digital pay-as-you-go and digital season ticketing are rolled out across the whole network.  

The King’s Speech is also expected to feature a Better Buses Bill to deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to reform the bus system by delivering new powers for local leaders to franchise local bus services and to lift the restriction on new publicly owned bus operators. 

This will help bring an end to the postcode lottery of bus services and will give local communities throughout England the power to take back control of their bus services. It will mean local leaders can decide to introduce better bus networks, at pace, which reflect the needs of the local communities that rely on them.  

Building 

Getting Britain to build more housing and infrastructure, including through planning reform, will also be central to the Government’s plans to strengthen economic growth.

The Bill will speed up and streamline the planning process to build more homes of all tenures and accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects. 

By enabling democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth. 

Empowering local communities 

As part of the government’s plans to empower local leaders to deliver change for their communities, the King’s Speech is also expected to unveil the English Devolution Bill. This will deliver the Government’s manifesto commitment to transfer power into local communities and recognising the vital role local leaders play in supporting growth by establishing local growth plans that bring economic benefit to communities and households across the country.

The speech will build on the first fortnight of the government’s mission of national renewal. 

From the launch of a National Wealth Fund to strengthen UK investment, to a new Mission Control tasked with turbocharging the UK to clean power by 2030, to opening the recruitment of a new Border Security Command, and the Deputy Prime Minister’s pledge to kickstart a new devolution revolution to transfer more powers out of Westminster and into the hands of local people – the Government is hitting the ground running and wasting no time in its work to change the country.

What is the King’s Speech and what does it mean for me?

All you need to know about the State Opening of Parliament

The King’s Speech is a speech written by the government and delivered by the Monarch at the State Opening of Parliament.

It marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year, or session, and is an opportunity for the government to set out its legislative agenda for the coming months.

In the speech, the government will typically set out bills which it intends to introduce to Parliament in the session ahead, as well as other policy priorities which do not require legislation.

When is the State Opening of Parliament?

The State Opening of Parliament takes place on the first day of a new parliamentary session.

Each parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament and runs for around 12 months.

Sessions are not a specified length, but there are normally five sessions in each Parliament. This means there are typically five sessions between each general election. A new parliamentary session will begin after every general election.

When a parliamentary session comes to an end the House is prorogued, which means the parliamentary year has formally ended until the next State Opening of Parliament.

What happens during the State Opening of Parliament?

The State Opening of Parliament begins with the Monarch’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.

The Monarch arrives at the Sovereign’s Entrance to Parliament and subsequently leads the Royal Procession to the chamber of the House of Lords.

A senior officer in the House of Lords known as Black Rod will then summon members of the House of Commons into the Lord’s Chamber to listen to the speech.

Before entering the Commons chamber, the door is shut in Black Rod’s face and the official will strike the door three times before it is opened. This practice dates back to the Civil War and symbolises the Commons’ independence from the monarchy.

When the Monarch leaves the chamber, a new parliamentary session begins.

Members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords will then debate the content of the speech for a number of days before the speech is voted on.

Did you know?

Traditions around the Monarch’s speech and the State Opening of Parliament can be traced back to the 16th century.

Before the Monarch arrives, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster for explosives to commemorate Guy Fawkes’s gunpowder plot of 1605.

The custom of Black Rod banging on the door of the Commons dates back to 1642, when Charles I tried to arrest five MPs, and symbolises the right of the Commons to exclude royal messengers.

The Imperial State Crown has 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and 4 rubies.

King’s Speech will put growth at the heart of Labour’s legislative agenda

Starmer prepares for The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17 July

  • New laws will prioritise growth, the Government’s overarching mission for the year ahead
  • Legislative programme will support delivery of the Government’s first steps and missions to rebuild Britain
  • Focus on improving the prosperity of the country and living standards of working people

The Government will use its mandate for change to put economic growth at the heart of its legislative agenda as it prepares for The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday (17 July). 

Departments are working on more than 35 bills to deliver an ambitious parliamentary session that will be built on a bedrock of economic security, to enable growth that will improve the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.

Legislation will include a bill to enforce tough new spending rules, designed to ensure economic growth, while avoiding the chaos which left families with spiralling bills and wreaked misery on people’s lives.    

To ensure nobody can play fast and loose with the public finances ever again, this new bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste. We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change. 

“From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbo charge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.

“The task of national renewal will not be easy, and this is just the down payment on our plans for the next five years, but the legislation set out at the King’s Speech will build on the momentum of our first days in office and make a difference to the lives of working people.”

‘His Majesty’s Most Gracious Speech’ will build on the momentum of the Government’s first week in office which saw the Prime Minister and his ministerial team roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Legislation to enact announcements made this week, including the launch of a National Wealth Fund to drive investment into the UK, to a new Mission Control tasked with turbocharging UK to clean power by 2030, to opening the recruitment of a new border security command, show that the Government is getting on with the job.   

The package of bills will focus on growing the economy through ‘turbocharging’ building of houses and infrastructure, better transport, more jobs and securing clean energy – helping to make every part of the country better off.  

As part of the Government’s plans to empower regions to deliver change for their communities, new legislation will also help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders who know what is best for their areas.

Home Secretary launches new Border Security Command

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out the first steps to establishing a new UK Border Security Command (BSC).

This BSC will strengthen Britain’s border security and smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.

Rapid recruitment for an exceptional leader used to working in complex and challenging environments, for example, at senior levels of policing, intelligence or the military, will kick off today (Monday 8 July), with the new recruit expected to take up their post in the coming weeks.

Reporting directly to the Home Secretary, the Border Security Commander will provide strategic direction to work across agencies, drawing together the work of the National Crime Agency (NCA), intelligence agencies, police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force, to better protect our borders and go after the smuggling gangs facilitating small boat crossings.

Following the Home Secretary’s instruction, a core team in the Home Office is establishing the remit, governance and strategic direction of the new command. Early legislation is being prepared to introduce new counter terror style powers and stronger measures to tackle organised immigration crime.

She has also commissioned a bespoke investigation from the department and the NCA into the latest routes, methods and tactics used by people smuggling gangs across Europe to inform a major law enforcement drive over the coming months.

The BSC will draw on substantial additional resources, with work to bring in more investigators, experts and analysts to tackle organised immigration crime starting on Monday. A significant number of these will be based across Europe, working with Europol and European police forces to disrupt the activity of the criminal smuggling gangs and ensure those profiting from people smuggling are brought to justice.

In a call to the Director General of the NCA, Graeme Biggar, the Home Secretary stressed the need to break the business model of the criminal smuggling gangs, going after their ability to communicate, move people across Europe and their profit.

The Home Secretary will have further calls this week with European interior ministers and with the Director General of Europol to discuss strengthening security cooperation.

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions out of small boat crossings, undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. We can’t carry on like this. We need to tackle the root of the problem, going after these dangerous criminals and bringing them to justice.

“The Border Security Command will be a major step change in UK enforcement efforts to tackle organised immigration crime, drawing on substantial resource to work across Europe and beyond to disrupt trafficking networks and to coordinate with prosecutors in Europe to deliver justice.

“Work is underway to bring in a Border Security Commander to lead this work – and we will begin recruitment on additional capacity in the National Crime Agency immediately.”

Chancellor: ‘I will take the difficult decisions to deliver growth’

Rachel Reeves: ‘No time to waste’

  • Chancellor Rachel Reeves will vow to “fix the foundations of Britain’s economy” to make every part of Britain better off.
  • In her first major speech, the Chancellor will declare economic growth is “a national mission” and promise to take the tough decisions to deliver on the Government’s mandate.
  • She is expected to announce swift changes to unblock infrastructure and private investment.

The Government will take the difficult decisions to deliver growth, Rachel Reeves will say in her first speech as Chancellor today.

Business leaders from some of Britain’s most pioneering industries – including its financial services and green industries – are expected to be in attendance in central London to hear Ms Reeves vow to “fix the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.”

Rachel Reeves will say there is “no time to waste” on delivering change, pledging to reverse “the legacy of fourteen years of chaos and economic irresponsibility”.

The Chancellor is expected to say: Last week, the British people voted for change. And over the past 72 hours I have begun the work necessary to deliver on that mandate.

“Our manifesto was clear: ‘Sustained economic growth is the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.’

“Where governments have been unwilling to take the difficult decisions to deliver growth – or have waited too long to act – I will deliver.

“It is now a national mission. There is no time to waste.

“This morning I want to outline the first steps this new government has taken to fix the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.

“We face the legacy of fourteen years of chaos and economic irresponsibility. 

“New Treasury analysis I requested over the weekend exposed the opportunities lost from this failure.

“Had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies since 2010, it would have been over £140 billion larger.

“This could have brought in an additional £58 billion in tax revenues last year alone to sustain our public services.

“It falls to this new Government to fix the foundations.”

Starmer: A mandate to do politics differently

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s remarks at a Downing Street press conference following the first meeting of the new cabinet today

Thank you all for coming. Yesterday the work of change began…

And as the dust settles on Thursday’s result, what is becoming clear for, I think, all to see is the mood of the nation, of the country…

What is expected of us and the mandate that we have to deliver change…

It’s a mandate not just to govern, although it is certainly that, but it’s a mandate that has put trust in us to change the country and to deliver…

And it’s a mandate to do politics differently…

And that change started yesterday as well…

I have, as you’ll have seen, appointed a Cabinet…

That was done yesterday afternoon and completed…

Some went to the Privy Council this morning to receive their seals, which was a moment in history…

We followed that with the first Cabinet meeting of the Labour government of 2024…

At that Cabinet meeting, I had the opportunity to set out precisely what I expect of them in terms of standards, delivery and the trust that the country has put in them…

And yesterday I met Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on standards, to discuss how we deliver in government…

At the Cabinet meeting, I also discussed mission delivery…

How we would put into action the plans that we have set out in our manifesto…

And that we will have mission delivery boards to drive through the change that we need, and that I will be chairing those boards to make sure that it’s clear to everyone that they are my priority in government…

We also talked about preparations for the King’s speech…

And I reminded the entire Cabinet, that we will be judged on actions, not on words…

And this afternoon, I will continue to make a number of frontbench appointments…

We clearly on Thursday got a mandate, from all four nations for the first time in 20 plus years…

We have a majority in England, in Scotland and in Wales…

And that is a clear mandate to govern for all four corners of the United Kingdom…

And therefore, I shall set off tomorrow to be in all four nations…

I shall go first to Scotland…

I shall then go to Northern Ireland…

Then to Wales, and then back to England…

Where I will meet the First Ministers, not just to discuss the issues and challenges of the day. Of course, we will do that…

But also to establish a way of working across the United Kingdom that will be different and better to the way of working that we’ve had in recent years, and to recognise the contributions of all four nations…

On Thursday, we also got a mandate on economic growth – the number one mission of the Labour government…

And so we discussed at Cabinet and have started the work on driving growth…

And to make sure that growth is everywhere across the whole country so that people are better off everywhere, wherever they live…

The principle I operate to is those with skin in the game know what’s best for their communities, and that does require us to be bold about pushing power and resource out of Whitehall…

And therefore, when I return from the four nations, I shall hold a meeting of the Metro mayors to discuss with them their part in delivering the growth that we need across the United Kingdom…

That will be on Tuesday…

That will include non-Labour Metro mayors…

There’s no monopoly on good ideas…

And I’m not a tribal politician…

And the principle I operate to, whether it’s mayors or other elected representatives, is that where regional leaders want to deliver for their area…

Then, regardless of the colour of their rosette, my door is open and my government will work with them…

Later on Tuesday, I shall set off to Washington for the NATO summit…

I’ve already had a number of international calls, as you will know, and as you would have expected, to establish the relations across with other countries to have really important discussions about Ukraine and other pressing issues…

And Washington will be an opportunity for me to have further discussions with some of the leaders I’ve already spoken to and some that I’m due to speak to…

It is, of course, an important summit on NATO…

It is for me to be absolutely clear that the first duty of my government is security and defense, to make clear our unshakable support of NATO…

And of course, to reiterate, as I did to President Zelenskyy yesterday, the support that we will have in this country and with our allies towards Ukraine…

So this will be a politics and a government that is about delivery, is about service…

Self-interest is yesterday’s politics…

I want a politics and a country that works for you…

Thank you very much.

Streeting: The NHS is broken

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care delivers a statement setting out his mission for saving the NHS

When we said during the election campaign, that the NHS was going through the biggest crisis in its history, we meant it.

When we said that patients are being failed on a daily basis, it wasn’t political rhetoric, but the daily reality faced by millions.

Previous governments have not been willing to admit these simple facts. But in order to cure an illness, you must first diagnose it.

This government will be honest about the challenges facing our country, and serious about tackling them.

From today, the policy of this department is that the NHS is broken.

That is the experience of patients who are not receiving the care they deserve, and of the staff working in the NHS who can see that – despite giving their best – this is not good enough.

When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life.

Today, I can begin to repay that debt, by saving our NHS.

I have just spoken over the phone with the BMA junior doctors committee, and I can announce that talks to end their industrial action will begin next week.

We promised during the campaign that we would begin negotiations as a matter of urgency, and that is what we are doing.

This government has received a mandate from millions of voters for change and reform of the NHS, so it can be there for us when we need it once again. It will take time – we never pretended that the NHS could be fixed overnight.

And it will take a team effort. It will be the mission of my department, every member of this government, and the 1.4 million people who work in the NHS, to turn our health service around.

We have done this before. When we were last in office, we worked hand in hand with NHS staff to deliver the shortest waits and highest patient satisfaction in history. We did it before, and together, we will do it again.

That work starts today.