With King’s Speech, UK’s New Labour Government Sets Out ‘Change’

During the official opening of parliament on Wednesday, the rituals and theatrics of constitutional monarchy were on full display, designed to demonstrate stability and legitimacy during the transition of power.

The ornate costumes and royal trumpet may have seemed particularly over-the-top as power passed from one Conservative government to another under five Conservative prime ministers. But Wednesday was a truly dramatic moment here.

As a result of the landslide election on July 4, the main players swapped roles. Familiar names were dropped from the script. New plot lines began to emerge.

On Wednesday, new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and defeated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walked into Westminster, chatting amiably and animatedly, like athletes after a tough match. Sunak remains leader of the Conservative Party — now in opposition — until a replacement is chosen.

Starmer and his ministerial picks officially began on July 5. Starmer has already represented Britain at NATO, shaken hands with President Biden in the Oval Office, and dropped some of Sunak’s plans, such as deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. But Wednesday was the day the new government set out its priorities, putting the “change” slogan at the heart of Labour’s winning election campaign.

In a speech read by the king, in keeping with tradition, the government set ambitious legislative targets, with a package of 40 bills on the way.

“Even the initial number of bills” indicates the “level of ambition” of this new government, said Anand Menon, professor of political science at King’s College London. Sunak’s government had previously mentioned 21 bills.

The “huge” legislative agenda represents a belief in government intervention, Menon said. It is a recognition that “the state has a role to play. And there will always be arguments about how far that state can and should go.”

Some of the new agenda reflects Labour’s traditional ideas about government: the King’s Speech highlighted plans to nationalise the rail services and create a publicly owned clean energy company based in Scotland.

But Starmer’s reshaped Labour Party also stresses the importance of public-private partnerships and “creating wealth for all communities”. The party wants to boost the economy by encouraging housing and infrastructure. And it wants to stop local governments from blocking new construction.

“Securing economic growth will be a fundamental task,” the king added.

Britain is the world’s sixth-largest economy, but people here are feeling the pinch as wages fall short of the cost of living. Economic growth will be essential to fund everything Labour wants to do without massive tax increases.

Starmer and his ministers have been keen to blame the state of the country’s coffers on 14 years of Tory rule.

“National renewal is not a quick fix,” the prime minister said during the parliamentary debate following the speech. “The rot of 14 years will take a long time to repair.”

The opening lines of the King’s speech began: “My government will govern in the service of the country. My government’s legislative program will be mission-oriented and based on the principles of security, justice and opportunity for all.”

Perhaps this is consistent with the opinion of this king, who defined his job as serving the people.

Charles read the speech in a tone devoid of emotion. By tradition, it was not a serious speech, and the monarch is expected to remain non-partisan. But Charles is also known as a lifelong climate campaigner — which created some awkwardness during the recent King’s Speech, when he had to read out the Sunak government’s plans for a new oil and gas licensing system.

This time, Charles read: “My government recognizes the urgency of the global climate challenge.”

The Labour Party argues Economic growth and the shift to green energy need not be at odds. As part of its “Green Prosperity Plan,” the government has pledged to help create 650,000 jobs by 2030, as well as working with the private sector to double onshore wind capacity, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind capacity.

Climate activists hailed the new tone on Wednesday. “This King’s speech is very different from last year’s: it’s a major shift in political leadership on climate,” they said. Greenpeace published On social media. But environmentalists have also criticised Labour for not being bold enough. Projection The Conservative Party had previously pledged to spend £28 billion ($36 billion) a year on environmental projects if it won the election.

Sunak led the opposition response in parliament. He joked about how quickly people in British politics “find they have a bright future ahead of them, and wonder if they can be elder statesmen at 44.”

Sunak objected to the new government scrapping his plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying that without deterrence, people would continue to try to cross the English Channel illegally in small boats. But the Rwanda plan has repeatedly faced legal obstacles, and Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, was never going to push it through. Instead, the King’s Speech mentioned a new “border security command” as well as enhanced powers to treat people smugglers like terrorists.

Sunak also stressed that Labour inherited an economy that was on an upward trajectory, and that since all the books were open, it was dishonest for new ministers to claim that the public finances were worse off than anyone realised.

Although Charles was only a messenger on Wednesday, it was one of the most publicized days the monarch has had since he revealed in February that he had begun treatment for cancer. (It was not revealed what type of cancer he had or what treatment he was receiving.)

The State Opening of Parliament ritual includes many oddities. Before the monarch arrives, the monarch’s bodyguards search the cellars for explosives. This is a reference to Guy Fawkes’s Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a failed attempt by English Catholics to blow up the Protestant King James I and Parliament.

As is traditionally the case, black roda senior official in the House of Lords, had the door of the House of Commons closed in her face – representing the Commons’ independence from the Queen.

Another MP was held “hostage” at Buckingham Palace during the ceremony aimed at ensuring the Queen’s safe return.