Labour promises to counter ‘snake oil charm of populism’ in packed king’s speech

Keir Starmer has set out a government agenda that he will claim can counter the “snake oil charm of populism”, in a king’s speech pledging change to people’s lives including rights at work, cheaper energy and secure housing.

Starmer said the “fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era”, and said the king’s speech – the first under a Labour government for 15 years – would end the performative and divisive politics of the last years and counter the rise of the populist hard right.

The king’s speech sets out 40 bills, including many focused on economic growth – such as the planning and infrastructure bill, which will give the government new top-down powers on building key infrastructure faster.

The employment rights bill, which is the start of implementing the “new deal for working people”, has been promised to take effect within 100 days. It will ban zero-hours contracts unless an employee requests one, and most “fire and rehire” practices – although unions have complained that some aspects have been watered down after lobbying from business.

It will grant workers rights such as maternity pay and sick pay from day one of their employment, making flexible working the default, and simplify the process of trade union recognition.

Another expected early bill will be the nationalisation of rail companies, designed to bring the franchises back into public ownership as the contracts expire, and a better buses bill to give new franchising rights to local leaders. This will grant them powers over bus routes and timetables, taking these back from private companies.

Several bills are designed to highlight useful political causes, such as the economic responsibility bill enshrining a duty to consult the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) before making major tax changes. This could particularly injure the Conservatives as it was a key criticism of Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget, which did not include an OBR forecast. The employment bill plans to revoke Tory restrictions placed on trade union organising.

A bill will be introduced to set up Great British Energy (GBE), another election pledge, defining for the first time in law that it will be an energy production company rather than solely an investment vehicle. There had been fears within the sector that Labour would row back on plans for GBE to develop and own assets. The company is expected to be headquartered in Scotland and will “own, manage and operate clean power projects”.

An English devolution bill, spearheaded by the deputy leader, Angela Rayner, will implement key aspects of the former prime minister Gordon Brown’s review of handing more powers to local decision-making.

It will make devolved powers for local leaders the default, rather than negotiated with central government, including for strategic planning, local transport networks, skills and employment support. Communities will get new “right to buy” powers over empty shops, pubs and community spaces.

New laws will also make some strong-arm public health and antisocial behaviour interventions. These include restrictions on the sale and flavours of vapes, a progressive total ban on tobacco smoking, bans on some junk food advertising, new “respect orders” aimed at persistent antisocial behaviour, and direct powers to tackle the use of noisy off-road bikes on streets.

There will be three key bills prompted by national tragedies. Awaab’s law, prompted by the two-year-old who died in December 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould at his family’s home, will set out a legally enforceable timeframe for landlords to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards. Martyn’s law, named after Martyn Hett who died in the Manchester Arena terror attack, is to improve security of public events.

And the Hillsborough law will put a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, which the government said would address the “unacceptable defensive culture prevalent across too much of the public sector”.

In his introduction to the speech, Starmer said the agenda would “fix the foundations of this nation for the long term” and that it was only the starting point for what he promised would be a transformation.

“The era of politics as performance and self-interest above service is over,” he said. “The challenges we face require determined, patient work and serious solutions, rather than the temptation of the easy answer.