CNN
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Britain’s new Labor government pledged to end an “era of politics” in Wednesday’s ceremonial King’s Speech, unveiling a comprehensive agenda aimed at housing, crime and illegal migration and the breakdown of trust. General Election of the country.
In a grand event that brought together Britain’s royal competition and political class, King Charles III formally opened a new parliament after reading the plans of his new prime minister, Keir Starmer. Conservative rule to a compelling conclusion.
They centered on Starmer’s central pitch of “national renewal” and included a pledge to nationalize Britain’s railways and tackle the housing crisis by changing planning laws to create more affordable housing.
Starmer also made tough new promises to tackle illegal immigration and took a broad swipe at the Tory governments that have ruled Britain since 2010 and the rise of populism sweeping across the UK and Europe.
“The era of politics as self-interest over efficiency and service is over,” Starmer declared in his introduction to the agenda, which includes 40 new bills his government wants to pass. “The Struggle for Faith is the defining battle of our political era.”
His agenda broadens the core of British politics that Starmer sought to claim, including measures that sway the public towards pragmatism and appeal to both older and younger generations. “Populism’s snake-oil charms may seem tempting, but they only lead us to a dead end of further division and greater disillusionment,” Starmer wrote.
But while the speech laid out much of the growth-oriented vision Starmer laid out during the summer election campaign, questions remained about how quickly Britons could expect a boost to their ailing public services.
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The speech sets out the agenda of Keir Starmer, who defeated Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in this month’s election.
Luxury and politics collide
The state opening of Parliament is a rare clash of pomp and politics, with centuries-old flourishes and conventions that have caught many of Britain’s lawmakers off guard.
The production begins as King Charles III and his wife Camilla travel by carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament before summoning members of Parliament via the Black Rod – a character established in the 1300s. Lords Room.
Starmer and his defeated rival, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, shared a heated exchange before and after the speech, their roles dramatically reversed after the July 4 election, which saw Labor win a landslide victory in parliament.
As the speech began, attention turned to the first Labor legislative proposal in a decade and a half. After a decade of stagnant growth that saw housing and infrastructure projects abandoned across Britain, it put the effort to build at its heart.
Starmer formalized plans to re-nationalise Britain’s rail network in the coming years and to create a publicly owned renewable energy company.
Other parts of the speech continued Labour’s attempts to woo traditional conservative voters who have lost faith in the Tory party after a tumultuous stretch in government.
In particular, Starmer pledged to crack down on illegal migration and small boat crossings across the Channel – a move that has plagued successive Conservative governments and led to a surge in support for Reform UK, a populist anti-immigration group that won more than 4 million votes. In the election.
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This speech formally opens the new session of Parliament.
The text promised additional powers to law enforcement to investigate people smuggling, including stop and search at the border and the creation of a new Border Patrol Command. It also pledged to tackle Britain’s vast asylum backlog.
At home, many institutions were targeted for modernization – worst of all, the very room where Charles delivered his speech. Under government plans, hereditary peers will no longer be able to sit and vote in the House of Lords, a “first step in wider reform” for the chamber.
A new draft racial equality bill, meanwhile, would make it mandatory for large employers to report race and disability pay in the same way they currently report gender pay.
Long-awaited legislation to ban both gay and transgender therapy — attempts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity — was announced, first pursued by Theresa May in 2018, but never seen the light of day.
Starmer acknowledged a breakdown in the British public’s belief that politics can be a force for good – trust in politics is at an all-time low, long after corruption dominated Westminster, surveys suggest.
But his agenda will be underpinned by a great deal of doubt that Britain’s public services can be revived without a much larger infusion of cash than the government is providing.
In a speech focused on Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) or its social care sector, management will be prioritized over new legislation.
Later on Wednesday, the plan will be debated in the House of Commons, the first official session of the new parliament. Sunak, in his new role as opposition leader, will see Starmer press his promises. He is expected to build on his party’s unfamiliar role as an effort to offer constructive opposition on behalf of the country, while acknowledging that the public feels a yearning for change.
