At last we have seen Keir Starmer’s blueprint for government – and the King’s Speech shows Labour has been listening to current events.

Among the 40 Bills announced by King Charles today (July 17, 2024) were several that This Writer recognises as responses to events of the last 14 years of Tory misrule.

Here are some of them:

• The Water (Special Measures) Bill will respond to public unrest about the way private owners of public services abuse their position, by making the bosses of private water companies personally liable for lawbreaking, and giving the water regulator new powers to ban bonuses. But will it use those powers?
• The Renters’ Rights Bill will ban no-fault evictions, which has been a political football for years.
• The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce a gradual ban on smoking – continuing a plan initiated by Rishi Sunak and his Tory government.

There are also draft Bills that may undergo changes as the government consults on possible ways forward:

• A draft Conversion Practices Bill will introduce new restrictions on controversial “abusive” practices intended to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
• A Bill bringing in the so-called ‘Hillsborough Law’ will impose a duty of candour on public servants – to be open and honest about the facts and not to conceal them in order to win political points or push through legislation.

Sadly some Bills – either promised by the government or demanded by the public – were not in the King’s Speech:

• I see nothing in the reporting of the speech about a Building Safety Bill which – as described in Labour’s manifesto, would “ensure we never again see a repeat of the Grenfell fire”. That would be a grave omission. If I have missed mention of this measure, please let me know.
• And of course there is no offer to remove the two-child cap on child benefit. As I type this, Labour has announced a ministerial taskforce on a child poverty strategy, possibly in an attempt to prevent a rebellion within the party’s own ranks that would support an amendment to the speech, removing the cap.

So: a mixed bag – as always. But it’s possible that there is more good than bad. As ever, though, the Devil is in the details.

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