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State Opening of Parliament LIVE: Keir Starmer vows to 'take brakes off Britain' as government priorities are outlined in King's Speech

2 months ago 23

By Jamie Bullen

Published: 08:23 BST, 17 July 2024 | Updated: 08:59 BST, 17 July 2024

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King Charles will today announce more than 30 draft laws as he outlines Sir Keir Starmer's plans to 'take the brakes off Britain' at the State Opening of Parliament.

Making his first King's Speech under a Labour government, the monarch is expected to set out legislation on illegal migration, housing, planning, workers' rights and railway nationalisation.

The King will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster to deliver his address in the House of Lords on a day packed with pomp and ceremony as the new Parliament officially opens.

Follow our live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section

Labour's green belt plans is 'shameless spin'

 Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Shadow House of Commons leader Chris Philp has said the Government's plans to build on so-called 'grey belt' land is 'shameless spin' ahead of the King's Speech.

The Conservative MP told Times Radio:

Obviously we accept and agree that more houses need to be built, but they need to be built in the right places.
For example, in my view, they should be built on brownfield sites in city centres, those kinds of places first looking at maybe new towns, but what we should not be doing is ripping up the green belt.
He said housing should be built on brownfield sites and by building high in town and city centres – for example in Canary Wharf or the Greenwich Peninsula in London.

He said:

They are talking about huge chunks of the green belt, not the odd car park. You can’t just suddenly claim that a whole load of green belt is now called the grey belt and it’s okay to build on it. I mean, that’s just obviously a piece of nonsensical and shameless spin.

Labour - Our planning reforms may be controversial

 Yui Mok/PA Wire

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has admitted Labour’s planning reforms 'may be controversial' but are committed to 'getting things built more quickly'

Ahead of the King’s Speech, Mr McFadden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.
That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.
But it’s reasonable for people to expect that, if we said that during the campaign, it’s what they see when the King’s Speech is published later today.

The Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East added:

If we do nothing on this, we will continue with a situation where there’s a whole generation of young people for whom the aspiration of owning their own home, or sometimes even renting one at a reasonable price, will continue to be unrealisable.

Pictures: Britain prepares for State Opening of Parliament

Police officers have been patrolling Whitehall ahead of today's State Opening of Parliament.

Here are some pictures of preparations in the capital this morning.

©George Cracknell Wright 17/07/2024London, United KingdomState Opening of ParliamentPolice patrol Whitehall in Westminster ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.Photo Credit: George Cracknell Wright

©George Cracknell Wright 17/07/2024London, United KingdomState Opening of ParliamentPolice patrol Whitehall in Westminster ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.Photo Credit: George Cracknell Wright

©George Cracknell Wright 17/07/2024London, United KingdomState Opening of ParliamentUnion flags hang in Parliament Square in Westminster ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.Photo Credit: George Cracknell Wright

©George Cracknell Wright 17/07/2024London, United KingdomState Opening of ParliamentSpecialist police officers perform a search on Whitehall in Westminster ahead of the State Opening of Parliament.Photo Credit: George Cracknell Wright

The King's Speech: What measures can we expect to see?

(FILES) Britain's King Charles III, wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, sits beside Britain's Queen Camilla, wearing the George IV State Diadem, as he reads the King's speech from The Sovereign's Throne in the House of Lords chamber, during the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on November 7, 2023. Britain's King Charles III will read out Labour's first programme for government in a decade and half when the UK parliament formally reopens following the July 4 election. The speech expected to include more than 35 bills, is not written by the monarch but by the government and details the laws it proposes to make over the next 12 months. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LEON NEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

King Charles is expected to announce around 35 draft laws today as he delivers his first speech under a Labour government.

Here are some measures he will likely set out:

  • Scrapping anti-strike laws and introducing a new package of 'workers' rights'
  • Legislation to set up a state-owned energy company GB Energy which will drive investment in green power projects such as solar and wind farms
  • A package of electoral reform, including booting out hereditary peers and starting the process for introducing votes at 16
  • A Criminal Justice Bill, including tougher powers on shoplifting and an extension of the ban on zombie knives
  • A Border Security Bill to allow the new Border Security Command to use counter-terrorism powers to help break the people-smuggling gangs
  • A Renters Reform Bill to ban no-fault evictions and force landlords to deal with mouldy flats
  • The revival of Rishi Sunak's plan to prevent anyone born after 2009 from ever buying cigarettes

Preview: Starmer pledges to 'take the brakes off Britain' in bumper King's Speech

The Daily Mail's Political Editor Jason Groves reports Sir Keir Starmer will launch a fresh assault on the planning system today – meaning communities can debate only 'how, not if' homes are built.

Sources said today's King Speech will include a new Planning Bill which will curb residents' ability to block controversial developments.

Areas of the Green Belt deemed 'low quality' will be re-designated as 'Grey Belt' and released for development.

Read Jason's preview here of today's King's Speech:

Good morning

Hello and welcome to MailOnline's live coverage of the King's Speech to mark the State Opening of Parliament this morning.

King Charles is expected to announce around 35 draft laws as he delivers his first address in Parliament under a Labour government.

New legislation on illegal migration, housing, planning, workers' rights and railway nationalisation are expected to feature in his address.

The speech is expected to begin around 11:30am.

Key Updates

  • Labour - Our planning reforms may be controversial

  • The King's Speech: What measures can we expect to see?

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