Less than two weeks after winning the general election, the new Labour administration is today delivering its first King’s Speech in power.
Many of the measures set out in the speech, which will be delivered by King Charles III from the House of Lords, deliver on key manifesto commitments made by the Labour Party during the campaign.
There are also several pieces of legislation carried over from the previous administration. Here are the details of everything announced in the King’s Speech.
Budget Responsibility Bill
In its election manifesto, the Labour Party pledged that all its decisions would be “based on sound money and economic stability” underpinned by strong fiscal rules.
This new bill aims to ensure that the “mistakes of Liz Truss’s mini-Budget cannot be repeated” by requiring that every fiscal event which makes significant and permanent changes to taxation or spending must be subject to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
National Wealth Fund Bill
Another manifesto pledge by the new Government was to create a National Wealth Fund to invest in green industries, which it claims will create 650,000 jobs across the country by 2030.
This bill establishes that the new fund, which will get an injection of £7.3bn in capital will be distributed via the UK Infrastructure Bank. The Government also plans to raise private investment, claiming that £3 of private sector investment will be raised for every £1 it invests.
Pension Schemes Bill
This bill aims to support over 15 million people who save in private-sector pension schemes get better outcomes from their pension assets and support the Government’s mission to deliver growth.
It will create a way of bringing together pension pots from different jobs so people don’t lose track of them, and it will require pension schemes to offer retirement products so people have a pension and not just a savings pot when they stop work.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
This bill aims to reform the planning system to support the Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes and decarbonise the UK’s energy grid by 2030.
One key change is to hand more planning powers to local authorities. The bill also aims to make it easier to build critical infrastructure, reform compulsory purchase compensation to make it fairer to landowners and use developments to support nature recovery.
Employment Rights Bill
One of Labour’s key election pledges was to bring in a “New Deal for Workers” to strengthen employment rights, which is being realised via this bill.
It will ban zero-hour contracts and the practice of “fire and rehire”, while also ensuring workers’ rights like parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal are in place from the first day on the job.
Other changes include making flexible working the default from day one for all workers, ensuring sick pay is available for all workers regardless of earnings and strengthening protections for new mothers in the workplace.
It also establishes the Fair Work Agency to strengthen the enforcement of workplace rights, removes restrictions on unions such as minimum service levels and brings in new mechanisms for pay reviews for care workers.
English Devolution Bill
This bill is focused on expanding devolution across England to give local leaders enhanced powers over areas such as strategic planning, local transport networks, skills and employment support.
It will also make devolution the “default setting”, meaning local areas will not have to negotiate complicated agreements for new powers and make it easier for certain powers to be devolved.
Another key change is bringing in the “right to buy” policy for community assets such as empty shops, pubs and community spaces, making it easier for local authorities to revamp unused spaces.
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
This bill acts as the first step of the Government’s pledge to bring railways back into public ownership. It amends existing railway legislation so that appointing a public-sector operator for a railway is the default position rather than a last resort when the existing franchise holder is in trouble.
The plan is for train operations for specific routes that will transfer to public ownership once the existing contracts with operators expire.
Better Buses Bill
This legislation aims to make it easier for local leaders to “take control of their local bus services” by removing current barriers which limit bus franchising powers to only metro mayors.
It also speeds up the bus franchising process, ends the ban on publicly-owned bus companies and brings in new accountability mechanisms for private bus companies.
Railways Bill
This legislation establishes Great British Railways (GBR) which will bring together the management of the publicly-owned rail network and passenger services.
A key part of GBR’s remit is ensuring delivery for passengers, which it will do through the creation of the Passenger Standards Authority watchdog to monitor the performance. The bill also puts a statutory duty on GBR to promote the use of rail freight and ensure freight operators have access to the network.
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
This bill aims to ensure that the costs of propping up failing banking institutions do not fall onto taxpayers by giving more powers to the Bank of England.
It introduces a new mechanism to allow the Bank of England to use funds provided by the banking sector to cover certain costs associated with resolving a failing banking institution and achieving its sale in whole or in part.
Arbitration Bill
This bill has been carried over from the previous government and aims to modernise the law on arbitration, a form of dispute resolution between two parties, following recommendations by the Law Commission of England and Wales.
The Government claims this law will clarify existing regulations on arbitration agreements, strengthen court powers to support the process and facilitate quicker dispute resolution.
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
Following the UK’s departure from the EU, this bill gives the Government the power to mirror or diverge from any updated EU rules when it comes to product regulations.
Examples in the Government’s explanatory notes include enabling the UK to keep pace with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and respond to the fire risks associated with e-bikes.
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
This bill is focused on harnessing the power of data and modernising the Government’s approach in certain key areas.
The three changes brought in by this legislation are the establishment a Digital Verification Service to make it easier for people to confirm their identity online, a National Underground Asset Register to map things like pipes and cables and a Smart Data scheme which allows for the sharing of customer data upon request.
High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill
The Government has made clear it is not reviving the northern leg of the high-speed rail link which was scrapped under the previous Conservative government.
Instead, it is repurposing the existing legislation to create powers to improve east-west connectivity in the north – something that many of the metro mayors have long been calling for. A key part of the new legislation is creating powers for important rail infrastructure in Manchester and the surrounding area, including new stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport
Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
This draft bill plans to replace the Financial Reporting Council with a new regulator – the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority – with the powers it needs to tackle bad financial reporting.
It aims to ensure improved scrutiny of companies’ accounts as well as accountability for company directors, with the hope that requiring better transparency from large companies will help avoid company failures and protect jobs.
Great British Energy Bill
This bill establishes Great British Energy (GBE) – a new, publicly owned energy production company which will own, manage and operate clean power projects.
The creation of GBE was a key manifesto commitment for Labour during the campaign and aims to ensure cheaper bills for consumers and help the UK reach its net zero commitments by 2030. The company will get £8.3bn in fresh funding over the next parliament.
The Crown Estate Bill
This bill revamps the operations of the Crown Estate – a private company which manages the portfolio of land and property owned by the royal family, with profits funnelled back into the government coffers.
It expands the number of commissioners on the Crown Estate board, allows it to borrow money for future investments and gives the body greater powers to invest money in initiatives that support government objectives such as offshore wind and ports.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
This Bill supports sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK by providing revenue certainty to encourage investment in the construction of sustainable fuel plants across the UK.
It supports the Government’s pledge to decarbonise the aviation sector and also aims to create jobs in support over 10,000 jobs in sustainable fuel production.
Water (Special Measures) Bill
This legislation delivers on Labour’s manifesto commitment to strengthen regulations on water companies to ensure they keep the UK’s rivers, lakes and seas free from sewage and pollution.
It gives powers to levy criminal liability on water bosses for pollution, ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards aren’t met and boost accountability for water bosses with a new code of conduct.
The bill also creates powers for automatic and severe fines on water companies that pollute waterways and requires them to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet.
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
During the election campaign, Labour pledged to establish a new Border Security Command which will use counter-terrorism-style tactics to tackle people smuggling across the Channel.
This legislation gives the new body the powers needed to realise this pledge and ensures that there are tough penalties in place against organised crime facilitating illegal migration.
The Government also plans to reform the asylum system by ending the use of hotels and clearing the current backlog, with some of the funds necessary recovered by cancelling the previous administration’s Rwanda deportation plan.
Crime and Policing Bill
This legislation delivers on Labour’s pledges relating to tackling crime and will include measures to expand neighbourhood police and Police Community Support Officers as well as new Respect Orders to tackle persistent adult offenders.
It will also expand the powers of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to intervene in failing forces, introduce higher mandatory national vetting standards across policing and introduce a new duty to find savings in procurement.
Other measures include creating a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker, banning ninja swords and other lethal blades and providing stronger protections for victims of domestic abuse, rape and other sexual offences.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
This Bill has been dubbed “Martyn’s Law” after, Martyn Hett, one of 22 people who died in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017, and has been carried over from the previous parliament.
The legislation will place a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations, such as concert venues, to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
This bill aims to strengthen support for victims by giving more powers to the Victims’ Commissioner to ensure they can hold the system to account.
Measures include tackling court delays by allowing Associate Prosecutors to work on certain cases and requiring offenders to attend their sentencing hearings. The Bill comes alongside the Government’s pledge to fast-track rape cases by having specialist courts in place at every Crown Court.
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
One of Labour’s manifesto pledges was to bring in breakfast clubs in every primary school which is among the measures being delivered by this legislation. It also creates new limits on the number of branded items of uniform and PE kits that a school can require to bring down costs for parents.
The key aim of this bill is to raise school standards, which will be done by giving Ofsted greater powers to investigate independent schools and requiring all schools including academies to teach the national curriculum and subjecting multi-academy trusts to inspections.
Other measures include making it easier to investigate teacher misconduct and ensuring all teachers in classrooms are working towards Qualified Teacher Status.
The bill will additionally create a duty on local authorities to have and maintain Children Not in School registers and require special educational needs schools to work with local authorities on admissions.
Skills England Bill
This bill delivers on the Government’s commitment to simplify and improve the skills system, which it will do by transferring powers to the new Skills England body.
This organisation will work with industry, the Migration Advisory Committee, unions and the Industrial Strategy Council to build and maintain a comprehensive assessment of current and future skills needs.
Renters’ Rights Bill
Under this legislation, Section 21 “no fault evictions” will be abolished and tenants’ rights and protections will be strengthened such as by allowing them to question rent rises and ending the practice of rental bidding wars.
Other changes include giving tenants the right to request a pet, applying a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector and bringing in “Awaab’s Law” to the sector which sets clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.
It will also create a digital private rented sector database to bring together key information for landlords and tenants and make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.
Football Governance Bill
The previous King’s Speech under the Conservative government pledged to create a new football regulator to “safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans” and this has been carried over by the new administration.
The regulator will scrutinise the finances of club owners, as well as ensure assets such as stadiums are protected from sale or relocation without the approval of fans
It will also set a minimum standard for fan engagement by clubs, and prevent clubs from joining breakaway leagues.
Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
Under this bill, the Government will end the feudal leasehold system and promote commonhold by enacting Law Commission recommendations to enhance leaseholders’ rights to extend leases, buy freeholds, and manage buildings.
It will modernise commonhold, restrict new leasehold flat sales, and regulate existing ground rents. Measures will address unfair costs in private estates and protect against forfeiture for small debts.
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
The draft Bill aims to tackle inequality for minority ethnic communities and disabled people by enshrining the right to equal pay in law, making it easier to file unequal pay claims.
It also introduces mandatory pay reporting for ethnicity and disability for employers with over 250 employees.
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
This legislation delivers on Labour’s manifesto commitment to bring in a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy practices.
The draft Conversion Practices Bill introduces new offences against conversion practices, ensuring criminal protection while allowing individuals to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity freely.
Explanatory notes for the bill state that the ban will not affect legitimate psychological support, treatment, or non-directive counselling, and respects the roles of teachers, religious leaders, parents, and carers.
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
This bill has been carried over from the last parliament and brings in the legislation needed to ban smoking for future generations, as well as cracking down on the vaping industry.
Mr Sunak used his Conservative Party conference speech last month to announce that the legal age for buying tobacco should rise every year.
The new law will eventually mean tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January, 2009, and that a 14-year-old alive today would never be able to buy a cigarette.
It also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as limiting the vape flavours available and regulating packaging to prevent them from being targeted at children.
Mental Health Bill
The Mental Health Bill aims to modernise the outdated Mental Health Act 1983 by enhancing patient choice, autonomy, rights, and support.
Key changes include revising detention criteria, limiting detentions for people with learning disabilities or autism, strengthening patient involvement in care decisions, introducing a new statutory role of nominated person, removing police stations and prisons as places of safety, and improving care access for offenders with severe mental health issues.
Hillsborough Law
The bill enacts a “Hillsborough Law” to impose a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, tackling the defensive culture in the public sector.
It aims to enhance transparency and accountability during public investigations, reduce defensiveness, and prevent the lack of candour seen in cases like the Hillsborough and Infected Blood Inquiries.
Additionally, it will improve support for bereaved individuals and participants in inquests and public inquiries, including providing legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths.
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
This bill establishes an Armed Forces Commissioner to champion service personnel and their families.
It aims to address record-low morale and recruitment challenges in the forces by providing an independent contact for raising issues outside the chain of command, strengthening parliamentary oversight, and ensuring proper accountability.
The Commissioner will have the power to investigate and highlight concerns, such as accommodation, work-life balance, faulty equipment, and childcare arrangements, to improve service life.
Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation
This legislation repeals and replaces the existing Legacy Act, which the Government claims has failed to deliver justice for Troubles victims.
The new legislation will involve working with Northern Ireland communities to create a supportive framework.
The conditional immunity scheme will be repealed, allowing civil claims and resuming halted inquests. This is the first step toward fulfilling the commitment to replace the 2023 Legacy Act, with further legislation to follow after consultations.
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
This bill removes the right of the remaining 72 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, fulfilling a Government manifesto commitment.
The continued presence of hereditary peers is seen as outdated and indefensible, with nearly 100 seats reserved for those born into certain families who are currently all men. No progress has been made on removing hereditary peers since the House of Lords Act 1999.
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
This bill aims to strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and protect more essential digital services by expanding existing regulations, bolstering regulators, and increasing reporting requirements to better understand cyber threats.
It updates outdated UK regulations inherited from the EU to prevent vulnerabilities in UK infrastructure and economy.
Key changes include expanding regulation to cover more digital services and supply chains, empowering regulators to ensure cyber safety measures, and mandating increased incident reporting to improve government awareness and response to cyber attacks.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
This bill grants the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) legal status akin to international organisations recognized by the UK.
This ensures they can operate fully in the UK, enabling the CPA to promote parliamentary democracy globally and the ICRC to continue humanitarian work in conflict zones.
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
This legislation extends provisions to prioritize female diocesan bishops for seats in the House of Lords when vacancies arise among the 21 bishops.
Originally enacted to expedite female bishops’ entry into the Lords, the Bill ensures continued representation and supports the Church of England’s efforts for gender parity in the spiritual peers.
Without this extension, bishops would revert to appointments based solely on tenure, potentially slowing progress towards increased female representation in the House of Lords.
Holocaust Memorial Bill
This legislation was first introduced into Parliament in February 2023 and has been carried over from the last session.
It was first introduced after plans to build a memorial centre in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament ran into difficulties over a 1900 law requiring the land to be used as a public park.
This bill intends to update the legislation, removing the legal obstacle that has prevented the project from going ahead.