Starmer says Tories just offering ‘gimmicks, division and more of the same’
In a statement about the king’s speech issued overnight, Keir Starmer said:
Britain is crying out for the long-term change that harnesses the ambition of our young people, the innovative drive of our businesses, and the ordinary hope and optimism that exists around every kitchen table.
A government acting in the national interest would deliver a big build programme to kickstart growth in every region and begin to turn around 13 years of decline with a plan for a decade of national renewal.
The Tories can’t fix the country because they’ve already failed. With a legacy of stagnant growth, sky-rocketing mortgages, soaring prices and crumbling schools and hospitals, Rishi Sunak admits the country needs to change; but this government cannot deliver it.
The choice facing the country is between a changed Labour party, hungry to change the country through an exciting programme of long-term reform, and a Tory party with only gimmicks, division, and more of the same.
Key events
The king says:
Alongside this, my ministers will seek to attract record levels of investment in renewable energy sources and reform grid connections, building on the United Kingdom’s track-record of decarbonising faster than other G7 economies.
My government will invest in Network North to deliver faster and more reliable journeys between, and within, the cities and towns of the North and Midlands, prioritising improving the journeys that people make most often.
Analysis: “Invest in Network North” is, of course, a reference to the abolition of phase two of HS2. As has been noted here, and elsewhere, already, Network North, the patchwork of transport measures being funding from the savings from the axing of the Manchester leg of HS2, is neither a network, nor exclusively for the north of England.
The king goes on:
My ministers’ focus is on increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come.
My Government will continue to take action to bring down inflation, to ease the cost of living for families and help businesses fund new jobs and investment.
My ministers will support the Bank of England to return inflation to target by taking responsible decisions on spending and borrowing. These decisions will help household finances, reduce public sector debt, and safeguard the financial security of the country.
Legislation will be introduced to strengthen the United Kingdom’s energy security, and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes. This bill will support the future licensing of new oil and gas fields, helping the country to transition to net zero by 2050 without adding undue burdens on households.
Analysis: The king references Sunak’s five priorities for this year. Given his lifelong commitment to the environment, it is a bit harsh that the first actual bill he mentions in the speech is the offshore petroleum licensing bill, the measure announced at the weekend intended to highlight the government’s support for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
UK faces ‘significant long-term challenges’ because of Covid and Ukraine war, says king
King Charles is delivering the speech now.
He says:
My lords and members of the House of Commons
It is mindful of the legacy of service and devotion to this country set by My beloved Mother, The late Queen, that I deliver this, the first King’s Speech in over 70 years. The impact of Covid and the war in Ukraine have created significant long-term challenges for the United Kingdom. That is why my government’s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better.
Analysis: This is rather grim opening, highlighting the “signficant long-term challenges” for the UK created by Covid and the Ukraine war. (Most economists would add Brexit to the list, but the government still claims to believe it has been a success, with Rishi Sunak telling the Tory conference Brexit has been good for growth.) The focus on long-term decision making is undermined by the claims made by many commentators that the speech is overly focused on measures that might offer a short-term political advantage.
Alex Chalk, dressed up in is lord chancellor’s kit, hands the king a copy of his speech.
Black Rod (Sarah Clarke) tells MPs they have been summoned to attend the Lords.
MPs are now filing out of the Commons chamber, and heading for the Lords.
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer seem to be having an amicable chat. It was not like that when Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn were in those roles; they barely exchanged a word.
The king is now on the throne in the House of Lords. Now Black Rod has to march to the Commons chamber (which is only a few hundreds yards away) to summon MPs to attend the Lords to listen to the speech.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have now arrived at parliament.
Here is Ben Quinn’s guide to what will be in the king’s speech.
Starmer says Tories just offering ‘gimmicks, division and more of the same’
In a statement about the king’s speech issued overnight, Keir Starmer said:
Britain is crying out for the long-term change that harnesses the ambition of our young people, the innovative drive of our businesses, and the ordinary hope and optimism that exists around every kitchen table.
A government acting in the national interest would deliver a big build programme to kickstart growth in every region and begin to turn around 13 years of decline with a plan for a decade of national renewal.
The Tories can’t fix the country because they’ve already failed. With a legacy of stagnant growth, sky-rocketing mortgages, soaring prices and crumbling schools and hospitals, Rishi Sunak admits the country needs to change; but this government cannot deliver it.
The choice facing the country is between a changed Labour party, hungry to change the country through an exciting programme of long-term reform, and a Tory party with only gimmicks, division, and more of the same.
Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, also refused to endorse Suella Braverman’s description of rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice” in his interviews this morning. Asked on Sky News about the comment, Chalk said he would take a “take a different approach”. He went on:
There’s often a very significant context, which will be mental health issues, substance abuse problems, relationship breakdown, loss of a job and so on. And so I do think that that needs to be weighed in the balance.
We shouldn’t do anything which entrenches people’s rough sleeping. Because if you do that, effectively you’re condemning and consigning people to poorer health outcomes and I’m afraid, in some cases, even shorter life expectancy.
So to be kind you sometimes have to be robust and you sometimes have to be really quite firm.
Referring to Braverman’s comment, he said:
I think she was writing on Twitter, and I actually had a chat with her about it. I don’t think she disagrees with anything that I’m saying now, namely that there is a context.
Justice secretary Alex Chalk declines to back Braverman in calling pro-Palestinian demonstrations ‘hate marches’
Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, was doing a media round this morning, talking about the four law and order measures in the king’s speech. In the course of it, he joined the growing list of cabinet minsters who have refused to endorse Suella Braverman’s description of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London and elsewhere as “hate marches”.
Asked if he agreed with her, Chalk said:
There is no doubt there are elements on these marches that I’m afraid are espousing hate … but equally there will be those people who are there expressing their anguish at some of the untold suffering.
The concern must be whether those people who have perfectly legitimate intentions and concerns are directly or indirectly supporting those people who are espousing hate.
Asked if his refusal to back Braverman’s language was a sign of confusion, Chalk said:
It’s not confusion. I think it’s an issue of semantics. The home secretary is absolutely correct when she says that there is hate on these marches.
Since Braverman used the term “hate marches” last week, no member of the cabinet has unequivocally endorsed her language. But that has not deterred her. She used a version of the phrase again last night in a post on X.
Chalk also said he hoped the organisers of the march planned for Saturday would call it off, as the Metropolitan police have requested, because it coincides with Armistice Day. Chalk said:
Of course, there is the right to protest, which is important, but also concerns about public safety. Now, [the police] have been very clear that having weighed all that up, their strong request is that these marches don’t take place and we support the police in that.
We think that it’s wise advice. We think it takes account of all the competing considerations and that it should be followed.
Suella Braverman ‘fails to get ban on charities giving tents to homeless included in king’s speech’
Good morning. Today’s king’s speech will be Rishi Sunak’s first as PM, and King Charles’s first as king. Charles can be reasonably confident that it won’t be his last.
It is routine to describe this as one of Sunak’s big reset opportunities, along with his party conference speech and the autumn statement. But this is not really true. The state opening of parliament is a big ceremonial moment, and a useful summary of the legislation that might be passed in the next 12 months, but there is no evidence of a king or queen’s speech ever “shifting the dial” in party political polling, in the way that a good or bad budget can. (Margaret Thatcher was largely brought down by the poll tax, but the shift did not happen when it was mentioned in the queen’s speech.) The speech is also not particularly reliable as a guide to the big political decisions that might be taken over the next year. Two of the most important laws passed in the last session of parliament – the Illegal Migration Act and the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act – weren’t even mentioned in the last queen’s speech, in May 2022, and the challenges that most determine how a PM is viewed by the public often relate to crises such as wars, not legislation.
Here is Pippa Crerar and Rajeev Syal’s overnight story on what to expect.
As Pippa and Rajeev report, law and order will feature prominently. There will be four Home Office bills in the speech: a sentencing bill, a criminal justice bill, a victims and prisons bill, and an investigatory powers (amendment) bill.
But one proposal that won’t be in the speech is the proposal from Suella Braverman, the home secretary, to ban charities from handing out tents to the homeless in cities. At the weekend the Financial Times said she had “pitched” this idea for inclusion in the speech, which probably should have made it clear to all of us that it was not actually there. (Unlike the budget, the king’s speech isn’t subject to last-minute haggling; it gets finalised days in advance.) But Braverman herself seemed to confirm the story by defending her plan vigorously on X. Nicholas Watt from Newsnight confirmed last night that the tents plan is out.
I will be focusing mostly on the king’s speech today. Here are the main timings.
11.25am: King Charles delivers the speech.
2.30pm: MPs begin the debate on the speech. The debate starts with speeches (ideally, funny ones) from two government backbenchers, Robert Goodwill and Siobhan Baillie, who propose and second the loyal address. There are then big speeches from Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak, who are expected to combine some jokes with a broad political message.
But I will also cover any highlights from the Covid inquiry, where Ed Lister, the chief of staff to Boris Johnson in No 10, is giving evidence.
If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.
