What to know about the UK’s King’s Speech
- King Charles delivered the first King’s Speech in Britain since 1951, with the annual event including the ceremonial kidnapping of an MP
- Despite its name, the address is not written by the monarch but by the government, which uses it to detail laws it proposes to make
Britain’s government set out its plans to tackle crime, boost growth and water down climate change measures on Tuesday, an unashamedly political agenda that could be Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s first and last King’s Speech before an election.
In an agenda written by the government but delivered by King Charles to lawmakers packed into parliament’s ornate House of Lords, Sunak signalled his intent to draw a dividing line with the opposition Labour Party before the vote expected next year.
With Labour running way ahead in the opinion polls, Sunak’s team is hoping his agenda will close the gap by reducing what he says is the burden of Britain’s climate change targets on households and by toughening sentences for violent offenders.
There was little new in the King’s Speech, more a collection of what Sunak has worked on since becoming prime minister last year on a pledge to bring stability after two leaders of his Conservative party were forced from power in a matter of weeks.
“My government will, in all respects, seek to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations,” King Charles, wearing the Imperial State Crown and Robe of State, told a hushed audience of lawmakers in the upper house of parliament.