King’s Speech – live: New laws on oil, smoking and football as Charles III makes first State Opening
Seven pieces of legislation will be carried over into the next parliamentary session
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A raft of new laws – including measures on oil and gas licences, the establishment of a new football regulator, and moves to phase out cigarette smoking – have been included in the King’s Speech.
The proposed legislation was announced by King Charles III as he addressed Parliament in his first State Opening, as the monarch set out Rishi Sunak’s government’s policy agenda for the year ahead.
It is the first such speech King Charles III has made since assuming the throne last year. It is also the first of Mr Sunak’s tenure in No 10 – and most likely the last prior to an expected general election next year.
The speech revealed Mr Sunak’s plans to make law and order a key election battleground, with a series of measures promising tougher sentences for killers and rapists.
Mr Sunak has also introduced new legislation to expand the use of self-driving vehicles – which clear the way for buses and lorries to operate autonomously by the end of the decade.
Commenting on education, the King said: “My ministers will strengthen education for the long term. Steps will be taken to ensure young people have the knowledge and skills to succeed, through the introduction of the Advanced British Standard that will bring technical and academic routes into a single qualification.
“Proposals will be implemented to reduce the number of young people studying poor quality university degrees and increase the number undertaking high quality apprenticeships.
“My ministers will take steps to make the economy more competitive, taking advantage of freedoms afforded by the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.
“A bill will be brought forward to promote trade and investment with economies in the fastest growing region in the world. My ministers will continue to negotiate trade agreements with dynamic economies, delivering jobs and growth in the United Kingdom.”
Government will create ‘smoke-free generation’, says King
King Charles has confirmed the plan to stop young people from smoking.
He said the legislation will “create a smoke-free generation”.Rishi Sunak’s government will bring in a law that would stop children who turn 14 this year and those younger from ever legally buying cigarettes or tobacco in England.
The plan was announced in a Tory party conference speech a few weeks ago.
A personal passion for the PM, it was hailed by health campaigners as a critical step towards creating a smoke-free generation.
Government to create National Holocaust Memorial
King Charles has confirmed that the government will bring back the Holocaust Memorial Bill. Plans to build a memorial centre in Victoria Tower Gardens – situated next to parliament – ran into difficulties over a 1900 law requiring the land to be used as a public park.
Meanwhile, the government will also introduce a bill banning public bodies such as local authorities from boycotting Israel.
The timing of the Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill has proved controversial – with some Tories warning it could exacerbate tensions during Israel-Hamas conflict.
Ban on no-fault evictions – but with conditions
The King’s Speech confirms that the government has again committed to protect renters with a ban on “no fault” evictions by landlords as part on the long-delayed Renters Reform Bill.
However, as levelling up secretary Michael Gove said last month, the government will not abolish section 21 evictions until “new court process” can speed up decisions – a move sparking outrage among campaigners who fear it kicks the vital change into the long grass.
The plans include banning new leasehold houses so that all new houses are freehold from the outset. But this may differ for flats – ministers are believed to be planning to deliver a reformed commonhold system.
A new bill will increase the standard lease extension term from 90 years to 990 years for both houses and flats, with ground rents reduced to zero by extension. A requirement for leaseholders to have owned for two years before extending will be removed.
King’s Speech: What policies made it in and what’s been removed?
Rishi Sunak is hoping to make law and order a key election battleground with a series of measures promising tougher sentences for killers, rapists and grooming gang ringleaders.
The prime minister has also used the King’s Speech in parliament to create a dividing line with Labour on climate change, with a new law bringing in annual oil and gas licensing in the North Sea.
The King’s Speech also saw a smoking ban – with the Tory government planning to stop children who turn 14 this year and those younger from ever legally buying cigarettes in England.
King’s Speech: What policies made it in and what’s been removed?
Rishi Sunak’s plans for smoking ban, football regulator, oil and gas drilling and tougher prison sentences finally revealed
Black Rod summons MPs to hear King’s Speech at State Opening of Parliament
Black Rod summoned MPs in the House of Commons to walk through to the House of Lords to hear the King's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday, 7 November. The senior officer is one of the most well-known figures of the ceremony, in which the King read out a speech setting out the legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. At the State Opening of Parliament, the House of Commons door is slammed in Black Rod's face to symbolise the Commons independence. Footage shows Sarah Clarke, who was appointed as Black Rod in 2017, entering the Commons after banging on the door.
King’s Speech 2023: Charles and Black Rod’s roles in the State Opening of Parliament explained
Wondering what the shouting of “Black Rod” and the slamming of doors was all about?
Here’s all the pomp and pageantry explained:
All of the pomp and pageantry surrounding the King at the State Opening of Parliament
The event marks Charles’s first time delivering the opening speech as monarch
King’s Speech was the longest monarch’s speech at State Opening of Parliament since 2005
The King’s Speech ran to 1,223 words, making it the longest monarch’s speech at a State Opening of Parliament since 2005.
In pictures: Members of House of Lords and House of Commons at Palace of Westminster
Shadow minister says government has ‘run out of steam’ after King’s Speech
Shadow minister Chris Bryant has attacked the King’s Speech saying it was not a legislative programme for a whole year.
Mr Bryant said: “We could get most of this done in a fortnight and then have a general election”.
“This government has run out of steam and run out of ideas,” he said.
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