LONDON (AP) 鈥� Britain鈥檚 promised to calm the country鈥檚 febrile politics and ease its cost-of-living crisis as it set out its plans for 鈥渘ational renewal鈥� at the grand State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.
Stabilizing the U.K.鈥檚 public finances and spurring economic growth were at the center of 鈥檚 legislative agenda, announced in a speech delivered by .
鈥淢y government will seek a new partnership with both business and working people and help the country move on from the recent cost of living challenges by prioritizing wealth creation for all communities,鈥� the king said in a speech to hundreds of lawmakers and scarlet-robed members of the House of Lords.
Starmer campaigned on a promise to bring bold change to Britain at modest cost to taxpayers. He aims to be both pro-worker and pro-business, in favor of vast new construction projects and protective of the environment. The risk is he may end up pleasing no one.
In a written introduction to the speech, Starmer urged patience, saying change would require 鈥渄etermined, patient work and serious solutions鈥� rather than easy answers and 鈥渢he snake oil charm of populism.鈥�
The King鈥檚 Speech is the centerpiece of the State Opening, an occasion where royal pomp meets hard-nosed politics, as the king donned a diamond-studded crown, sat on a gilded throne and announced the laws his government intends to pass in the coming year.
Labour won a on July 4 as after years of , and a revolving door of prime ministers. Starmer has promised to patch up the country鈥檚 and , but says he won鈥檛 raise personal taxes and insists change must be bound by 鈥渦nbreakable fiscal rules.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 speech included 40 bills 鈥� the Conservatives鈥� last speech had just 21 鈥� ranging from housebuilding to nationalizing Britain鈥檚 railways and decarbonizing the nation鈥檚 power supply with a publicly-owned green energy firm, Great British Energy.
The government said it would 鈥済et Britain building,鈥� setting up a National Wealth Fund and rewriting planning rules that stop new homes and infrastructure being built.
Economic measures included tighter rules governing corporations and a law to ensure all government budgets get advance independent scrutiny. That aims to avoid a repetition of the chaos sparked in 2022 by then-Prime Minister , whose package of uncosted tax cuts and .
The government promised stronger protections for workers, with a ban on some鈥渮ero-hours鈥� contracts and a higher minimum wage for many employees. Also announced were protections for renters against shoddy housing, sudden eviction and landlords who won鈥檛 let them have a pet.
The government promised more power for local governments and better bus and railway services 鈥� keys to the 鈥渓evelling up鈥� of Britain鈥檚 London-centric economy that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised but largely failed to deliver.
Though Starmer eschewed large-scale nationalization of industries, the government plans to take the delay-plagued train operators into public ownership.
The speech said the government 鈥渞ecognizes the urgency of the global climate challenge鈥� 鈥� a change in tone from the Conservative government鈥檚 emphasis on oil and gas exploration. As well as increasing renewable energy, it pledged tougher penalties for water companies that dump sewage into rivers, lakes and seas.
The speech included new measures to strengthen border security, creating a beefed-up Border Security Command with counter-terrorism powers to tackle people-smuggling gangs.
It follows Starmer鈥檚 decision to to send people arriving in the U.K. across the English Channel on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
The speech also tackled an issue that has foxed previous governments: reforming the House of Lords. The unelected upper chamber of Parliament is packed with almost 800 members 鈥� largely lifetime political appointees, with a smattering of judges, bishops and almost 100 hereditary aristocrats. The government said it would remove the hereditary nobles, though there was no mention of Starmer鈥檚 past proposal of setting a Lords retirement age of 80.
There was no mention of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, though that was one of Labour鈥檚 election promises.
While much of Starmer鈥檚 agenda marks a break with the defeated Conservative government of former , Starmer revived Sunak鈥檚 plan to by gradually raising the minimum age for buying tobacco.
The speech confirmed that the government wants to 鈥渞eset the relationship with European partners鈥� roiled by Britain鈥檚 exit from the European Union in 2020. It said there would be no change to Britain鈥檚 strong support for Ukraine and promised to 鈥減lay a leading role in providing Ukraine with a clear path to NATO membership.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 address was the second such speech delivered by Charles since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022.
He traveled from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in a horse-drawn carriage 鈥� past a small group of anti-monarchy protesters with signs reading 鈥淒own with the Crown鈥� 鈥� before donning ceremonial robes and the Imperial State Crown to deliver his speech. Police said 10 members of an environmental activist group were arrested near Parliament over alleged plans to disrupt the ceremony.
For all its royal trappings, it is the King鈥檚 Speech in name only. The words are written by government officials, and the monarch betrayed no flicker of emotion as he read them out.
鈥淭he king has zero agency in this,鈥� said Jill Rutter, senior research fellow at the Institute for Government think tank.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
