King’s Speech 2024: What policies to expect in Labour’s 35 bills

Following Labour’s landslide election victory, King Charles will deliver the King’s Speech as part of the State Opening of Parliament this week. The speech will outline the new government’s priorities for the months ahead.

The speech, the first King’s Speech under a Labour government since 1950, is expected to include more than 35 new bills ranging from housebuilding to green energy to constitutional reform. The speech is expected at around 11.25am on Wednesday, with debate from 2.30pm.

The government said over the weekend that it “will use its mandate for change to put economic growth at the heart of its legislative agenda”.

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It said that 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” and that new legislation “will also help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders”.

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 turbocharge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.

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“The task of national renewal will not be easy, and this is just the downpayment 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.”

LabourList looks at what is confirmed and expected from the speech and the bills set to be included in it.

Enforcing spending rules

The government said over the weekend the speech 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”.

It said the new bill will strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), meaning “significant fiscal announcements” must be “properly scrutinised”, to “ensure nobody can play fast and loose with the public finances ever again”.

Labour said in its election manifesto that the party’s approach would be based on “strong fiscal rules which will govern every single decision we make in government”.

It committed to strengthen the role of the OBR and ensure every fiscal event “making significant changes to taxation or spending” is subject to an independent OBR forecast.

National wealth fund

The government said the speech will “build on the momentum of the government’s first week in office”, with legislation to enact announcements made in the first week “show[ing] that the government is getting on with the job”.

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Its press release said this will include plans for a new national wealth fund, in which the party has said it would invest £7.3bn to be put towards the “new industries of the future”.

Labour said in its manifesto the national wealth fund would “have a remit to support Labour’s growth and clean energy missions, making transformative investments across every part of the country”.

It said the fund would have a target of attracting three pounds of private investment for every one pound of public investment and set out plans for investments in projects including upgrading ports, building new gigafactories, rebuilding the steel industry and accelerating the deployment of carbon capture.

Border security command

The government said the speech will also include legislation related to its planned border security command, which Labour said earlier this year will bring together key agencies and work cross-border with international agencies to tackle people-smuggling gangs.

The Home Office announced last week that “rapid recruitment for an exceptional leader” is underway, with the recruit “expected to take up their post in the coming weeks”.

It also said early legislation is being prepared to introduce new counter terror-style powers and stronger measures to tackle organised immigration crime.

In the manifesto, Labour said the border security command would be staffed with “hundreds of new investigators, intelligence officers and cross-border police officers”, paid for by ending the Migration and Economic Development partnership with Rwanda.

The party said the command would work internationally and be supported by new counter-terrorism style powers, “to pursue, disrupt and arrest those responsible for the vile trade”.

Constitutional change

Labour’s first bills will include substantial constitutional change, according to some reports, including manifesto commitments to reform the House of Lords. Compulsory retirement of peers at the age of 80 and the removal of hereditary peers is expected to feature in the King’s Speech.

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The Guardian also reports that automatic voter registration and Labour’s commitment to extend the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds will also be included in the speech.

Proposals to redraw the nation’s constituencies based on population, not just registered voters, could also be included.

A “take back control” bill is also expected, which would devolve more powers over energy, transport and planning to local communities.

In its manifesto, Labour pledged an “immediate modernisation” of the House of Lords through legislation to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote and a commitment to introduce a mandatory retirement age, alongside other measures.

The party also said it is “committed to replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is more representative of the regions and nations” and that it would consult on proposals.

The party said elsewhere in the manifesto that it would “improve voter registration” and pledged to give the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds.

It also committed to “transfer power out of Westminster, and into our communities, with landmark devolution legislation to take back control”.

Housebuilding

A key tenet of Labour’s pitch to the electorate was its commitment to build 1.5 million new homes, so the King’s Speech is expected to include a bill outlining how the government will achieve this goal. This will almost certainly include plans to overhaul the planning system.

In its manifesto, Labour pledged to immediately update the national policy planning framework to “undo damaging Conservative changes”, including restoring mandatory housing targets.

The party said it would take “tough action” to ensure that planning authorities have up-to-date local plans and reform and strengthen the presumption in favour of sustainable development. It also pledged to support local authorities by funding additional planning officers.

It said it would take a “brownfield-first approach” but also take a “more strategic approach” to greenbelt land designation and release to build more homes in “the right places”.

Other housing pledges included building a new generation of new towns and delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

Energy

A bill creating the new publicly-owned GB Energy is likely to be among those to be included in the King’s Speech, which will help the government reach its target of making the electricity system based on clean energy by the start of the next decade.

The government said the speech will include legislation to enact plans for a new mission control tasked with “turbocharging” the UK to clean power by 2030.

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It said last week the mission control will be “the first of its kind in government, with a relentless focus on accelerating the transition away from volatile fossil fuel markets to clean, homegrown power”.

It said the mission control will bring together a team of industry experts and officials to “troubleshoot, negotiate and clear the way for energy projects”.

Labour’s manifesto pledges on energy included doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power and quadrupling offshore wind by 2030, investing in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and marine energy and ensuring the UK has the long-term energy storage it needs.

The party said the framework for its energy and climate policies would be established by a new “Energy Independence Act”.

Transport

A bill to enshrine Labour’s commitment to nationalise the railways into law is expected, which would create a new public body to run services once private contracts expire.

Labour pledged in its manifesto to bring the railways into public ownership “as contracts with existing operators expire or are broken through a failure to deliver, without costing taxpayers a penny in compensation”.

The party said ‘Great British Railways’ would deliver a unified system “that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient services, along with ensuring safety and accessibility”.

Workers’ rights

Labour’s landmark workers’ rights bill, known as the New Deal for Working People, is expected to have legislation introduced within the new government’s first 100 days.

The measures set to be implemented include a ban on zero-hours contracts, a crackdown on fire and rehire and granting greater workers’ rights from day one of starting a new job.

Labour also pledged in it manifesto to “strengthen the collective voice of workers, including through their trade unions” and create a single enforcement body “to ensure employment rights are upheld”.

It said it would “consult fully with businesses, workers and civil society” on how to put the plans into practice before legislation is passed.

Making spiking a specific offence

According to BBC News, the government is set to introduce a new law to make spiking a specific criminal offence in the King’s Speech.

Labour committed in its manifesto to introduce a new criminal offence for spiking “to help police better respond to this crime”.

Ban on conversion therapy

ITV News UK editor Paul Brand has reported that he expects a bill to ban conversion therapy in the speech.

Labour pledged in its election manifesto that it would introduce a “full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, while protecting the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity”.

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