King’s Speech: The key moments as countdown to next general election begins
King Charles III today outlined the 21 pieces of legislation that prime minister Rishi Sunak will focus on before the next UK general election. Among the new announcements were legislation to encourage North Sea oil drilling, tougher sentencing for serious criminals and bills designed to show support for Israel. A day of pomp and ceremony […]
King’s Speech verdict: Sunak’s gracious address raised more questions than answers
Every year or so, MPs and Lords gather in the upper chamber to hear an address from the monarch who, fitted in ceremonial robes and adorned with the imperial state crown, delivers deadpan, bullet-point by bullet-point, the government’s forthcoming legislative agenda. But do not let the pomp and ceremony fool you, this is an intensely political […]
King’s Speech 2023: Full list of bills
Here is a rundown of the full list of bills from the King’s Speech 2023: GROWING THE ECONOMY Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill “Legislation will be introduced to strengthen the United Kingdom’s energy security and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes. This Bill will support the future licensing of new oil […]
King’s Speech sets out Rishi Sunak’s plan ‘to change this country’ — as it happened
Parliament today heard the annual King’s Speech, as Rishi Sunak laid out his legislative plans for the year ahead. It was King Charles III’s first such speech as monarch, and the first of the prime minister’s tenure in No 10. It is also potentially the last before a general election, which must be held by January […]
Rishi Sunak’s Treasury was referred to as ‘the pro-death squad’, Covid inquiry hears
Boris Johnson called the Treasury “the pro-death squad” as the government sought to build support for a loosening of Covid restrictions, the Covid inquiry heard today. Citing a diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, Dermot Keating, a counsel to the official Covid inquiry, said Johnson referred to the Treasury, then helmed […]
Will Nadine Dorries spoil Rishi Sunak’s big week?
The once lingering member for Mid Bedfordshire may have left parliament, but her presence is still very much felt in SW1. Nadine Dorries’ latest book, entitled The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson, was initially set to be published on 28th September, just three days before the beginning of Conservative Party Conference. But owing […]
Rishi Sunak vows annual oil and gas licensing bill will put Britain ‘on right path for the future’
The prime minister has said a renewed push on oil and gas licences will put Britain “on the right path for the future”. The comments came as it was revealed the government will expand North Sea oil and gas exploration in the King’s Speech, as the PM seeks to widen the divide with Labour on […]
Week-in-Review: New right-wing movement, backed by Kemi Badenoch, spells doom for Rishi Sunak
There’s a new right-wing institute, soaked in muscular traditionalism and religiosity, on the Westminster block. Meet the innocuously titled Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, a self-styled “international community with a vision for a better world” which gathered for its inaugural meeting in Greenwich, south-east London, this week. ARC, a new forum for the forces of the […]
Rishi Sunak declares achievements of AI summit ‘will tip the balance in favour of humanity’
The prime minister hailed the achievements of the Bletchley Park AI Summit today, saying the progress made will “tip the balance in favour of humanity”. At a press conference marking the end of the summit’s work, Rishi Sunak argued it had succeeded in increasing knowledge of the “risks” of AI. He explained: “We analysed the […]
After the AI summit, Rishi Sunak has a potential legacy to cite — and a new dividing line with Labour
Rishi Sunak is a prime minister with a famously full to-do list. At the start of the year he set himself five “pledges” — on all of inflation, economic growth, the NHS, debt and small boats — to work on in the remaining few years of his premiership. He has since undertaken what could be […]
