LONDON: King Charles III outlined Labour's first programme for government in 15 years on Wednesday, with promises of economic stability and tougher action on irregular immigration to improving relations with Europe soured by Brexit.
"We will unlock growth and take the brakes off Britain," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in introductory remarks to the King's Speech, a centuries-old tradition full of pomp and ceremony that details the laws the government proposes to make over the next 12 months.
Despite its name, the address, which marks the official start of the new parliamentary session, is not written by the monarch as head of state but by the government. It was centre-left Labour's first such speech since it was last in power in 2010.
Wearing the diamond-studded Imperial State Crown, his Admiral of the Fleet uniform and the crimson Robe of State, Charles delivered Labour's proposals from a golden throne in the House of Lords upper chamber after a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace.
The speech included more than 35 bills, including measures to enforce public spending rules and an independent assessment of future budgets to prevent a repeat of former prime minister Liz Truss's disastrous 2022 mini-budget that tanked the economy.
The legislation fleshed out several announcements already made, such as the launching of a wealth fund to draw investment into the UK to spur growth and of a publicly owned body tasked with boosting clean energy by 2030.
Labour also announced an acceleration of house-building and plans to take Britain's much-maligned rail services back into public hands.
There was also detail of a new border security command with beefed-up "counter-terror powers" to curb "immigration crime" -- Starmer's pledge to "smash the gangs" behind migrant crossings of the Channel from northern France.
Labour returned to government following a landslide win against the Rishi Sunak's Conservatives earlier this month, in which the hard-right Reform UK party led by the eurosceptic Nigel Farage secured five seats.
"The snake oil charm of populism may sound seductive, but it drives us into the dead end of further division and greater disappointment," Starmer said Wednesday, pledging to lead a government of "service".
The King's Speech included a bill to strengthen workers' rights and plans to reform the unelected House of Lords by scrapping the right of those with hereditary titles to sit there. — AFP
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