Britain's new Labour Party government is set to unveil its plans for the upcoming year in the King's Speech to Parliament. Prime Minister Keir Starmer aims to strike a balance between bold change and modest cost as he looks to boost economic growth and create wealth across the country.
The King's Speech, a grand event where royal tradition meets political agenda, will outline more than 35 bills covering a wide range of issues such as housebuilding, nationalizing railways, and decarbonizing the nation's power supply with a publicly owned green energy firm.
The government's agenda includes empowering local government, ensuring independent scrutiny of all budgets, strengthening border security, regulating artificial intelligence development, and potentially lowering the voting age to 16. There may also be efforts to reform the House of Lords by removing hereditary nobles and setting a retirement age of 80.
While some initiatives mark a departure from the previous Conservative government, there are plans to continue certain policies, such as gradually raising the minimum age for buying tobacco to deter future generations from smoking.
Despite the regal setting of the King's Speech, the monarch plays no active role in the proceedings, with the focus squarely on the government's legislative agenda and vision for the future.
