Chris Jarvis
These are 5 key pieces of policies Labour is set to introduce
Today saw the first King’s Speech under a Labour Government for 15 years. The event saw the King lay out the Labour Party’s legislative programme for the current parliament. Here are the five big takeaways.
1. Transforming public transport
The King’s Speech contained two major plans for transforming public transport in the UK.
The first was a commitment to legislate to take the railways back into public ownership. That will end the 30-year privatisation of the railways.
Second, Labour is proposing to introduce a Better Buses Bill which will allow local authorities to regulate their buses. Buses outside of London were de-regulated by Margaret Thatcher, meaning private bus firms have control of which routes they run buses on. At the moment, only areas with a metro-mayor, like Greater Manchester are able to regulate their buses, bringing them under public control.
Both these Bills were trailed in advance and have been welcomed by public transport campaigners.
2. The New Deal for Working People
In advance of the general election, Labour had been promising substantial changes to workers’ rights, branded the ‘New Deal for Working People’. That commitment appears to have been brought forward in the King’s Speech, as an Employment Rights Bill was announced, which it was said would “ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”.
What that legislation means in practice is yet to be set out in detail.
3. Banning conversion therapy
Among the announcements in the King’s Speech was a commitment to bring forward a Conversion Practices Bill. Conversion therapy is a practice in which attempts are made to ‘convert’ LGBT+ people out of their sexuality or gender identity.
Conversion therapy practices have widely been condemned as pseudo-scientific, discriminatory, and – in extreme cases – tantamount to torture.
Labour’s proposed legislation would outlaw these practices.
4. Great British Energy
One of the flagship commitments in Labour’s general election campaign was its proposal to establish a publicly owned energy company – Great British Energy.
The company would be based in Scotland and would be designed to invest in renewable energy production.
Great British Energy featured in the King’s Speech, and so we can expect legislation to bring this forward in the coming months.
5. House of Lords reform
Democratic reform didn’t feature much in the general election campaign. One area that Labour did commit to prioritising though was overhauling the House of Lords.
In the King’s Speech, a new House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill was announced. This legislation would remove the rights of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
While the speech included a commitment to ‘encourage wide participation in the democratic process’, there was no explicit reference to Labour’s manifesto pledge to lower the voting age to 16.
King’s Speech: Campaigners welcome Labour’s plans for public transport
Today will see the first King’s Speech delivered under a Labour government in 15 years. The King’s Speech sets out the legislation the government intends to bring forward in the current sitting of parliament.
Among the Bills expected to be announced in the speech are proposals to renationalise railways in the UK and to allow local authorities to regulate their buses.
Currently, only combined authorities with a metro-mayor have the powers required to bring buses under public control. This is what enabled Andy Burnham to regulate Greater Manchester’s buses in 2022, giving greater control over routes and fares.
In addition to giving more local authorities these powers, the King’s Speech is expected to announce that Labour will lift the ban on councils setting up their own publicly owned bus companies.
These two moves have been welcomed by public transport campaigners. Campaign group We Own It – which pushes for public services, including public transport, to be publicly owned has said that passengers can ‘breathe a sigh of relief’ as a result of the expected legislation.
Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at We Own It said of the planned renationalisation of the railways: “At last rail passengers can breathe a sigh of relief. This move by the new Labour government begins the wholesale renationalisation of our railway and it is long overdue. We Own It and other passenger groups have campaigned for a decade for a railway that works for people, not profit, and we’ve had success in bringing East Coast Rail, Northern Rail and TransPennine Express back into public hands.”
However, he also called on the government to go further, adding: “The government can go further and extend the principle to the ownership of our rolling stock, that is, the trains themselves, and put passengers on the decision-making boards that will run our railway system under public ownership. But this is without a doubt a brilliant start.”
With regards to the proposed new bus legislation, Nwogbo said: “On buses, mayors in Manchester, Liverpool and Yorkshire have become incredibly popular by taking public control of their local buses. Today’s announcement will make this government very popular with local bus users. We set up the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign and won public control of buses in Manchester in 2022. The model is spreading to Liverpool and West Yorkshire. The new powers announced today will mean more communities have a chance to benefit from buses run for them, not private profits”
Image credit: Paul Smith – Creative Commons
Full list of the 40 Bills announced in the King’s Speech
Today (July 17) saw the first King’s Speech of Keir Starmer’s government. The King’s Speech sets out the legislation the government intends to put before parliament.
A total of 40 Bills were announced as part of the King’s Speech. Here’s the full list:Budget Responsibility Bill
National Wealth Fund Bill
Pension Schemes Bill
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Employment Rights Bill
English Devolution Bill
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Better Buses Bill
Railways Bill
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
Arbitration Bill
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill
Great British Energy Bill
The Crown Estate Bill
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
Water (Special Measures) Bill
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Crime and Policing Bill
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
Skills England Bill
Renters’ Rights Bill
Football Governance Bill
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Mental Health Bill
Hillsborough Law (this will be a bill, but the Cabinet Office has not said what it will be called)
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation (this involves repealing the Northern Ireland Troubles [Legacy and Reconciliation] Act, but the Cabinet Office says repeal will require passing a new, replacement bill)
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
Holocaust Memorial Bill
Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
Today
Left Foot Forward
These are 5 key pieces of policies Labour is set to introduce
Today saw the first King’s Speech under a Labour Government for 15 years. The event saw the King lay out the Labour Party’s legislative programme for the current parliament. Here are the five big takeaways.
1. Transforming public transport
The King’s Speech contained two major plans for transforming public transport in the UK.
The first was a commitment to legislate to take the railways back into public ownership. That will end the 30-year privatisation of the railways.
Second, Labour is proposing to introduce a Better Buses Bill which will allow local authorities to regulate their buses. Buses outside of London were de-regulated by Margaret Thatcher, meaning private bus firms have control of which routes they run buses on. At the moment, only areas with a metro-mayor, like Greater Manchester are able to regulate their buses, bringing them under public control.
Both these Bills were trailed in advance and have been welcomed by public transport campaigners.
2. The New Deal for Working People
In advance of the general election, Labour had been promising substantial changes to workers’ rights, branded the ‘New Deal for Working People’. That commitment appears to have been brought forward in the King’s Speech, as an Employment Rights Bill was announced, which it was said would “ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”.
What that legislation means in practice is yet to be set out in detail.
3. Banning conversion therapy
Among the announcements in the King’s Speech was a commitment to bring forward a Conversion Practices Bill. Conversion therapy is a practice in which attempts are made to ‘convert’ LGBT+ people out of their sexuality or gender identity.
Conversion therapy practices have widely been condemned as pseudo-scientific, discriminatory, and – in extreme cases – tantamount to torture.
Labour’s proposed legislation would outlaw these practices.
4. Great British Energy
One of the flagship commitments in Labour’s general election campaign was its proposal to establish a publicly owned energy company – Great British Energy.
The company would be based in Scotland and would be designed to invest in renewable energy production.
Great British Energy featured in the King’s Speech, and so we can expect legislation to bring this forward in the coming months.
5. House of Lords reform
Democratic reform didn’t feature much in the general election campaign. One area that Labour did commit to prioritising though was overhauling the House of Lords.
In the King’s Speech, a new House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill was announced. This legislation would remove the rights of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
While the speech included a commitment to ‘encourage wide participation in the democratic process’, there was no explicit reference to Labour’s manifesto pledge to lower the voting age to 16.
King’s Speech: Campaigners welcome Labour’s plans for public transport
Today
Left Foot Forward
“At last rail passengers can breathe a sigh of relief."
“At last rail passengers can breathe a sigh of relief."
Today will see the first King’s Speech delivered under a Labour government in 15 years. The King’s Speech sets out the legislation the government intends to bring forward in the current sitting of parliament.
Among the Bills expected to be announced in the speech are proposals to renationalise railways in the UK and to allow local authorities to regulate their buses.
Currently, only combined authorities with a metro-mayor have the powers required to bring buses under public control. This is what enabled Andy Burnham to regulate Greater Manchester’s buses in 2022, giving greater control over routes and fares.
In addition to giving more local authorities these powers, the King’s Speech is expected to announce that Labour will lift the ban on councils setting up their own publicly owned bus companies.
These two moves have been welcomed by public transport campaigners. Campaign group We Own It – which pushes for public services, including public transport, to be publicly owned has said that passengers can ‘breathe a sigh of relief’ as a result of the expected legislation.
Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at We Own It said of the planned renationalisation of the railways: “At last rail passengers can breathe a sigh of relief. This move by the new Labour government begins the wholesale renationalisation of our railway and it is long overdue. We Own It and other passenger groups have campaigned for a decade for a railway that works for people, not profit, and we’ve had success in bringing East Coast Rail, Northern Rail and TransPennine Express back into public hands.”
However, he also called on the government to go further, adding: “The government can go further and extend the principle to the ownership of our rolling stock, that is, the trains themselves, and put passengers on the decision-making boards that will run our railway system under public ownership. But this is without a doubt a brilliant start.”
With regards to the proposed new bus legislation, Nwogbo said: “On buses, mayors in Manchester, Liverpool and Yorkshire have become incredibly popular by taking public control of their local buses. Today’s announcement will make this government very popular with local bus users. We set up the Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign and won public control of buses in Manchester in 2022. The model is spreading to Liverpool and West Yorkshire. The new powers announced today will mean more communities have a chance to benefit from buses run for them, not private profits”
Image credit: Paul Smith – Creative Commons
Full list of the 40 Bills announced in the King’s Speech
Today
Left Foot Forward
These are the Bills Keir Starmer's government is going to bring forward
Left Foot Forward
These are the Bills Keir Starmer's government is going to bring forward
Today (July 17) saw the first King’s Speech of Keir Starmer’s government. The King’s Speech sets out the legislation the government intends to put before parliament.
A total of 40 Bills were announced as part of the King’s Speech. Here’s the full list:Budget Responsibility Bill
National Wealth Fund Bill
Pension Schemes Bill
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Employment Rights Bill
English Devolution Bill
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill
Better Buses Bill
Railways Bill
Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill
Arbitration Bill
Product Safety and Metrology Bill
Digital Information and Smart Data Bill
High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill
Great British Energy Bill
The Crown Estate Bill
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill
Water (Special Measures) Bill
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Crime and Policing Bill
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
Skills England Bill
Renters’ Rights Bill
Football Governance Bill
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Mental Health Bill
Hillsborough Law (this will be a bill, but the Cabinet Office has not said what it will be called)
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
Northern Ireland Legacy Legislation (this involves repealing the Northern Ireland Troubles [Legacy and Reconciliation] Act, but the Cabinet Office says repeal will require passing a new, replacement bill)
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill
Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill
Holocaust Memorial Bill
Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
Draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
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