King’s Speech: Keir Starmer promises growth but warns there will be no ‘magic bullet’

Sir Keir Starmer said his government plan would “lift Britain’s spirits” and put the country on a “path to national renewal”.

Speaking after the king’s speech, which outlined 39 bills the government hopes to pass, the new prime minister said there would be “no magic bullet” and warned against “the deceptive allure of populism”.

At the heart of his plan to boost the country’s economic growth are changes to the planning system, aimed at making it easier to build housing and infrastructure.

Proposals to give more powers to local leaders, take railways into public ownership and increase workers’ rights were also included.

Some bills first introduced by the last government have been revived, including Rishi Sunak’s gradual smoking ban and the establishment of a football regulator.

There were some notable omissions, however, including no mention of removing the two-child benefit cap – which some Labour and SNP MPs have called for.

Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader and now independent MP for Islington North, joined calls to “do it now” and suggested that the announcement of a child poverty taskforce was a way of “just delaying things”.

He said: “Why not do it now and just say, ‘We’re going to end the cap’?”

“It is simply cruel and mean to say that the third, fourth or fifth child in a family is less valuable than the first two.”

A bill implementing Labour’s manifesto promise to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in general elections was also missing, but ministers say it will be brought forward at a later stage.

Green Party MP Sian Berry said she was disappointed because “young people need a real voice”, adding she believed they would help strengthen calls for the two-child limit to be scrapped.

Rebecca Long Bailey, a Labour MP and former shadow cabinet member, also called on her party to “urgently settle the debt of honour we owe” to women born in the 1950s who suffered “pension injustice”, known as Waspi women.

The speech was delivered by King Charles – accompanied by traditional pomp – but was written by the new Labour government, elected on July 4 with a large majority of 174 votes.

After the king’s speech, Conservative leader Mr Sunak said his party would not oppose the government “for the sake of it” but would hold it to account on its election promises.

On Labour’s proposed changes to planning rules, he said everyone wanted to see the process speeded up, but warned that “a system that does not allow local people to have their say will undermine public consent for more housing in the long term”.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper welcomed the promise to reform the mental health law but said she wanted to see more ambition on health and social care.

During the election campaign, the think tank Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the future government would have to choose between raising taxes, cutting public services or borrowing more.

Labour hopes to avoid these politically unpalatable options by stimulating growth, which has been slow for several years.

The king’s 12-minute speech was peppered with phrases such as “securing economic growth,” “a key driver of economic growth” and “local growth plans.”

In its briefing notes, the government argued that one of the “major constraints” on economic growth was the current planning regime and used the King’s Speech to introduce its Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The bill, which will apply to England, Wales and parts of Scotland, aims to speed up the building of homes and infrastructure.

Under the government’s plans, the capacity of local planning departments will be strengthened and the process of obtaining consent for infrastructure projects such as solar farms or grid connections will be simplified.

The government says that in future local authorities will only be able to influence how, not whether, new homes are built.

Given Labour’s strong majority in the House of Commons, the Planning Bill has a strong chance of passing Parliament.

However, the new projects could face strong opposition from local communities affected by the construction projects.

The government is also hoping that other measures will boost economic growth, including its English language devolution bill.

The bill would give local leaders more powers over transport, skills and employment and make it easier to apply for additional powers.

The Better Buses bill would allow local politicians to create public bus operators.

One bill would create a National Economic Development Fund to boost investment in green infrastructure and industries. Another would create Great British Energy, a public company that would invest in renewable energy.

When Mr Sunak called the general election in May, several government bills currently going through parliament had to be abandoned.

The Labour government has now announced that it will reintroduce some of these laws, including the Tobacco and E-Cigarettes Bill, which bans people born on or after 1 January 2009 from buying cigarettes.

The Protection of Premises from Terrorism Bill would establish Martyn’s Law, requiring premises to mitigate the impact of a potential terrorist attack.

The move was championed by Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack.

Downing Street said at least six of the bills outlined in the king’s speech will be introduced in parliament this week.

Responding to the speech, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said the government’s policies would lead to higher taxes and greater regulation.

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns said she wanted to see “bolder measures” to improve building standards and introduce rent controls.

The SNP’s Stephen Gethins said the “biggest drag on growth” was Brexit and criticised the government for failing to use its large majority to reverse the “Tory hard Brexit”.

He also criticised the government for failing to remove the limit on child benefit for two children.

The cap prevents households receiving Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit from receiving payments for a third or more children born after April 2017.

In the debate following the King’s Speech, former Labour shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell said dropping the limit would lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

Sir Keir has previously said he understands objections to the cap but that removing it is currently unaffordable.

Following the King’s Speech, the government announced the creation of a taskforce to develop a strategy to tackle child poverty, led by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

Among other measures, the King’s speech also included: