News and Insights
THE KING’S SPEECH 2024 – SETTING THE NEW GOVERNMENT AGENDA
July 18, 2024
The King’s Speech announces the main policy priorities of a new parliamentary session. As the first King’s Speech of the newly elected Labour government, the 40 bills and draft bills introduced yesterday represented an opportunity for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to outline the priorities that will deliver the change promised during the election campaign – setting the tone for the next five years.
Key bills and reforms
The National Wealth Fund Bill, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the English Devolution Bill, the Great British Energy Bill, and the Crown Estate Bill will enable the government to achieve its most pressing reforms to drive economic growth: streamlining planning rules for building more homes and infrastructures; setting up a public-owned company, Great British Energy, to boost investment in renewable energy projects, including offshore wind; devolving powers to give mayors more control over planning and transport. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill and the Rail Reform Bill will also play a role in the government’s mission to deliver growth.
The introduction of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill reflects the government’s concerns about the importance of protecting infrastructure and services offered by an increasingly digital economy. The Employment Rights Bill will enact some policies detailed in the New Deal for Working People, published in May, including, amongst others, banning exploitative zero-hour contracts, reforming the law to end ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ practices, making flexible working the default from day one for all workers, and removing unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity introduced by the Conservative government. The government has promised to work in consultation with businesses to ensure the deal is fair for everyone.
Financial and economic policies
An important piece of legislation that will be introduced as a draft bill, the Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, will address longstanding concerns about audit quality and the lack of competition within the market, in an effort to encourage investment in UK companies.
As trialled over the past few weeks, the Budget Responsibility Bill introduces legislation to empower the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the economic watchdog, to publish independent forecasts of major fiscal events to avoid a repeat of Liz Truss’ 2022 mini-budget, delivered without an independent assessment from the OBR. The Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill will expand the statutory role of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and give the Bank of England greater flexibility when responding to the failure of small banks.
In an attempt to reset the UK’s relationship with the European Union (EU), the government has signalled that it will seek a new security pact to strengthen cooperation on mutual threats. However, one of the main barriers to a smoother trade relationship with the EU is the regulatory (or lack of) alignment with the EU Single Market. The Product Safety and Metrology Bill will make it easier for the UK to recognise new EU product regulations to protect businesses.
The government has also decided to pick up three bills introduced by the previous government on phasing out a ban on smoking, giving renters more rights, and the creation of a new football regulator in England.
How your company should prepare for the months ahead
- The King’s Speech doesn’t restrain the government so other legislation can be introduced before the end of this parliamentary session. Some measures contained in the manifesto have been parked for now, for example, the introduction of restrictions on visas for foreign workers. Continue to monitor announcements and conversations about your industry.
- Bills can be introduced to Parliament from today. Some bills will be published before the summer break, but we should not expect them to make much progress until at least September when Parliament comes back from recess – before the party conference season starts. Companies should use this time to identify the areas they want to focus on and work on suggesting solutions, and improvements, as well as bringing up potential issues.
- Remember that the bills will be subject to parliamentary security and discussion, and stakeholders can shape the debate and suggest amendments. Be ready for when the time comes so you can contribute in a meaningful way.
- Start preparing for the Autumn Statement. Although we don’t have a date yet, the OBR needs at least 10 weeks to draw up its independent assessment of any future tax and spending changes. This means the budget will be delivered in mid-September at the earliest, or after the party conference season in November.
- The Labour Party Conference will represent an opportunity for businesses and organisations to engage with the government and other stakeholders. Consider attending and hosting an event to discuss your priorities.
Get in touch with FINN Partners public affairs
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss how the public affairs team can support your business. Contact Carolina Gasparoli, Vice-President, London Office: carolina.gasparoli@finnpartners.com
POSTED BY: Carolina Gasparoli
