Around two weeks following the change of government in Great Britain, King Charles III opened Parliament with royal pomp on Wednesday. With the crown on his head and the “robe of state” – an ermine cape – around his shoulders, the monarch read out the government program of the new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the “King’s Speech”.
Not a single word comes from the King himself; the speech was written by Prime Minister Starmer. It presents the government’s legislative program.
Starmer has big plans. More than 35 new pieces of legislation are the roadmap for the future of the kingdom. “Change” was the central message of the election campaign, and the speech from the throne explained how Starmer wants to change the country in detail.
One of the key issues is growth. The government wants to stimulate the economy. Prime Minister Tony Blair once described his government’s mission with the three words “educate, educate, educate”. 27 years later, his successor Starmer’s mission is: build, build, build. Planning law is to be changed to speed up the construction of 1.5 million new homes over the next five years and to push ahead with infrastructure projects.
Another main topic is transport. The railways, which were privatised in the 1990s, are to be fully nationalised once more under Labour as soon as the franchise agreements expire. Another state-owned company, Great British Railways, is being founded to take over the operation of train services and infrastructure.
The third major theme of the speech from the throne was the transfer of government power to municipalities and regional administrations. In Great Britain, the capital, London, is still too dominant and the country is highly centralized. Labour wants to change that and to this end enable municipalities and metropolises to implement local growth plans.
Strict smoking ban planned
Other laws announced by the King included a lifetime smoking ban for anyone born following January 1, 2009. It is nothing less than the toughest anti-tobacco law in the world. The lowering of the voting age to 16 was also announced in Starmer’s name.
The 75-year-old king and his wife, Queen Camilla, who celebrated her 77th birthday on Wednesday, had previously arrived with great pomp by carriage in a procession from Buckingham Palace. The “State Opening of Parliament” is one of the most important dates in the royal and political calendar.
