The King’s Speech has set out 40 new laws to change under the Labour government, as Keir Starmer aims to ‘improve the living standards of working people’.
King Charles addressed the nation yesterday, outlining the agenda for the parliamentary year.
Some of the proposed changes include improvements to the NHS, employment rights and housing initiatives. Following the State Opening of Parliament, MPs will have the chance to vote on the government’s proposals and decide which bills to implement.
We have rounded up some of the changes which could occur under the Labour government:
1) Improve the NHS
The government has pledged to take steps to improve the National Health Service for everyone – including reducing waiting times and focusing on prevention.
It has also laid out new mental health provisions for young people to make sure it’s given the same attention and focus as physical health. The King also laid out plans to modernise the Mental Health Act, so it is fit for the twenty-first century, ensuring all patients are treated with dignity and respect.
The plan also includes introducing legislation to help stop young people from smoking and vaping and to restrict the advertising of junk food to children, along with the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children.
2) Employment
Plans were laid out to introduce an Employment Rights Bill ‘to make work pay. This is said to be the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
The Labour government aims to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, and introduce basic employment rights from day one. It also proposed changes to the Low Pay Commission to make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage.
4) Housing
The new government has outlined plans to introduce a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill to “accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing”.
Labour wants to “get Britain building” to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing.
The Bill aims to speed up building projects by simplifying the consent process for major infrastructure schemes and modernising planning committees so they can process applications more quickly.
The legislation would also reform compulsory purchase compensation rules so that compensation paid to landowners is “fair but not excessive” when it comes to building affordable housing or important social and physical infrastructure.
4) Renting
Renters will have more protections under the Renters’ Rights Bill. The Bill plans to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’ whereby private tenants are given just eight weeks to find a new place to live as the landlord wants to reclaim their property.
The Bill will also give tenants more rights and protections, such as the ability to challenge rent increases and the right to request a pet.
Rental homes will also need to reach a decent standard to ensure homes are safe, secure and hazard-free.
It will also become illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants who receive benefits or with children when letting out their property.
5) Pensions
Labour announced a Pensions Bill to make retirement investments key to boosting the economy. The party also claims this could ‘boost’ individual pensions pot, and improve savings for those in private sectors.
It says the bill could help an average earner, who saves over their lifetime in a defined contribution (DC) scheme – which almost all people in the private sector save into – to have £11,000 extra in their pension pots.
It added it wants to encourage a pensions market that encourages consolidation – meaning people combine their pension pots into one.
6) Product Safety
The government has addressed a new Product Safety and Metrology Bill to introduce new responsibilities for those involved in the supply of high-risk products such as e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries. This Bill will regulate online marketplaces and introduce new responsibilities for those involved in the supply of goods.
The government said this will allow the UK to address modern-day safety issues and ensure a ‘level playing field between the high street and online marketplaces’, where unscrupulous overseas suppliers are less able to place unsafe goods on the UK market through online marketplaces.
7) Crime
The government has also set out plans to crack down on crime, by introducing tougher sanctions for criminals. This includes adding legislation designed to ‘tackle retail crime’ by creating a new specific offence of assaulting a shopworker and introducing ‘stronger measures to tackle low-level shoplifting’.
In the King’s Speech, it was stated that legislation will be brought forward to strengthen community policing, give the police greater powers to deal with anti-social behaviour and strengthen support for victims under the Crime and Policing Bill and Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill.
The government will bring forward plans to halve violence against women and girls.
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