Conservatives draw election battle lines in king’s speech with focus on crime

The British government has laid out a packed legislative agenda for the final session of parliament in a speech delivered to the House of Lords by King Charles.

In the first king’s speech since 1951 the government promised to bring 21 separate pieces of legislation to parliament, including tougher punishments for criminals, an independent regulator for football, and a previously-announced ban on selling cigarettes.

The new laws promised in the speech also include stricter government controls over the security measures deployed by online tech giants, reform of the UK’s legal system for leaseholds, new oil and gas licenses, and laws to pave the way for self-driving cars on British roads.

The parliamentary agenda for the next year or so represents the final chance for the Conservative government led by prime minister Rishi Sunak to enact laws to win over voters before the next UK election, which is expected late in 2024 but which some observers say could come as soon as May.

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The speech was delivered by the monarch but was written for him by Mr Sunak’s government. King Charles arrived in the late morning to the Palace of Westminster in a horse-drawn state coach, before entering the House of Lords via the “robing room”, where he donned his crown and official garments.

As the king by convention is not allowed to enter the House of Commons, MPs filed across the corridor to the House of Lords to hear him deliver the speech from an ornate throne at one end of the chamber. He started the speech shortly after 11.30am and finished up just before noon.

There was a heavy focus on law and order in the speech, including the proposed imposition of mandatory whole-of-life prison orders for killers whose crimes include sexual or sadistic motives. Rapists will also no longer qualify for early release once new laws are passed.

The proposed new powers would also allow judges to summon prisoners to courts for sentencing. The government had already promised this after neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, who was convicted in August for murdering seven babies in her care, refused to come to the dock for her sentencing.

The proposed new laws also include tougher sentences for grooming gangs, knife crime and for people who take or share intimate images without consent.

The government has also proposed laws providing consumers with greater protections when purchasing online, while public bodies will also be banned from boycotting Israel.

The speech opened with a commitment by the government to foster economic growth, but it was later criticised by business groups. The British Chamber of Commerce said it was a “missed opportunity” to help business. The government remains under pressure from certain quarters to announce tax cuts in its fiscal autumn statement in coming weeks.

The proposals did not include a mooted ban on using tents by homeless people, who home secretary Suella Braverman is reported to have asked to be included. It also did not include a ban on conversion therapy for gay and transgender people.

Some of the measures in the speech had already been announced, leading the Liberal Democrats to dismiss the agenda as being full of “gimmicks and reheated policies”. In words delivered by the king, the government said its measures included “difficult but necessary” decisions to secure Britain’s long-term future.