I was at a graduation yesterday, and so missed much of the King's Speech.
To be honest, I missed nothing of consequence.
There is to be a review on child poverty, but no intention to find the money to end the two child poverty cap, which renders any such review meaningless.
There was the announcement of two new private equity funds to slush money to the City. They are called GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund, but they are nothing of the sort. And even Labour cannot explain what it is about.
Rail nationalisation costs nothing, and simply means the end of franchising. That's effectively already happened.
There was nothing on water, except some token gesture penalties for water companies directors. Is that really all they think is required.
it was the same fir the environment. Given GB Energy is just an investment fund there was nothing positive to say.
The minor electoral reforms Labour had committed to look to have been abandoned. The Lords is staying.
The workplace reforms are welcome, but pretty feeble.
Social reform was missed, altogether, for all practical purposes.
Some of the leasehold reforms are welcome, but it seems they do not go nearly far enough.
Some Bills, like smoking, football reform, and audit reform pick up work the Tories said they would do. They are hardly Labour issues.
There was no mention of how to actually address backlogs in tackling crime.
That was because the economic agenda is designed to deliver austerity.
And the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (extension) Bill will ensure more remain bishops sit in the Lords when they should be gone for good.
There was nothing for Scotland, or Wales. There was for English regions.
In summary, this is a hotch-potch of minor commitments which add up to something considerably less than a vision published by a government that does not believe it has the power to manage the country,the economy, or our future. Half-baked, in two words. And all of it predicated on growth that Rachel Reeves and the Bank of England are guaranteeing cannot happen.
This is going to end in tears.
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If the people on the Clapham omnibus see no benefit to them over the next few years – Labour will be handing the next election to Reform.
They did announce an intention to ban hereditary peers, which was one of your suggestions:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/house-of-lords-lord-government-commons-conservative-b2581250.html
But otherwise very grim, as you say.
Enshrining a “balanced budget” [sic] into law (the Budget Responsibility Act) sounds like an utter disaster, see page 11 of the briefing for details:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6697f5c10808eaf43b50d18e/The_King_s_Speech_2024_background_briefing_notes.pdf
It seems to me this is going to end in tears because the government has a stonking Commons majority but nothing close to a majority of public opinion. They attracted 9.7 million votes in the general election – just a third of the 28 million people who voted, a fifth of the 48 million registered voters, and about one in seven in a country of over 65 million. Tony Blair in 1997 had over 13 million. The last Conservative government has nearly 14 million.
As soon as the government tries to do anything that is unpopular they are going to run into significant resistance. But they may get away with it until either opposition parties get properly organised against them, or their own internal coalition falls apart. Or popular protests are organised against them (compare for example the fuel protests in 1999 and 2000 which effectively ended the fuel tax escalator).
Agreed
I’m not sure what GBEnergy can deliver that a PE beauty contest can’t?
There is a possibility that I will be casting around to fund a few hundred MW-class renewable projects. They will look somewhat similar and have the same counterparty. The PE rabble will be invited to make a bid to fund a given project (or box of projects) – lowest/most cost effective bid wins. Make the buggers sweat for their money. First one or two might not be so easy – but once the ball is rolling there will be no shortage of PE outfits wanting to bid (greed you see). I mention this to illustrate that vis-a-vis PE one does not have to be a supplicant/pretty please – one can influence the power dynamic with, as noted, greed as the lever.
Poverty only gets alleviated by getting more money to the poor.
What fantasy solution is a “review” going to find that is not this?
Good post, Richard.
The glass, while packed with forty bills giving the appearance of extraordinary energy, is three quarters empty.
As usual, I disagree with you a bit about growth. I found the most depressing aspect of the whole thing the obsessive rhetorical centrality to it of growth fetishism. Those parts of the Speech could literally have been given by Truss-Kwarteng!
This would be my Memo to Labour:
re the self-proclaimed obsession of the new Govt with growth growth growth.
Should this really be the overarching mission, given the terrifying climate and nature crisis, and given the utter lack of evidence for trickle down economics working. The overarching growth mission is going to damage the green belt, and nature, and is going to make it impossibly harder to stay below climate targets.
Isn’t the growth obsession little more than a reckless gamble that obscures the need for redistribution.
#KingsSpeech
Agreed, Rupert
This is a recklessly irresponsible goverbnment, and it’s only weeks old at present.
Quite it well end in tears. The planning ‘reforms’ are in reality a means to gut the planning system and allow developers to build what they want, where they want. Bumping up targets is neither necessary or desirable. Real planning reform would bring an end to housing being used for second homes and holiday lets – which is fine for the very affluent but not for the rest of society. As for boosting growth well what can be said? On paper building luxury homes or surf pods for holiday use puts GDP up but its pretty meaningless.
An ill thought out and ill considered set of proposals!
I did watch it – the speech not the pomp. It was a pointless exercise in mediocrity.
Doing nothing about the 2-child poverty cap is unforgivable. McFadden’s earlier comment – that it is debatable that children’s poverty causes harm – was breathtaking in its arrogance. Scotland will have to continue to mitigate it, taking millions from e.g., our NHS.
Meanwhile, the King and Queen were dripping in diamonds, the precious stones blinding in their intensity.
Whilst funnelling money from Scotland’s North Sea resources, without so much as a by your leave to the Scots, and lying to everyone that it will lead to lower prices, shows where his priorities lie. Sir thinks we’re mugs.
It also shows Sir’s total lack of respect for Scotland. That makes 317 years and counting.
As for the HoL, they will be retired at 80. It appears many of them such as that old soak Foulkes, go to the red benches for subsidised food, wine (especially the wine) and a snooze. What vision!
This is just another set of vile individuals – much like the old – who don’t ask themselves ‘how can we help the people who put us here’ rather ‘how do we suck as much out of the people (and Scotland’s resources) for our own benefit’ whilst keeping the green benches warm for the Tories’ return.
As you were.
And the fancy dress parade reminding us of the Monarchy and how outdated and out of touch our democracy is.
Like I said a while back. Keefs job is to go to war.
To preserve the Fascist Imperialism of the centuries as the Multipolar draws together against the old Anglo European imperialists. They who murder Palestinians and make wars and refugees all over Africa and Asia are ignored by the masses because the media does not mention it – so it can’t be important! As we raise temperatures against China and further cut ourselves of fron EurAsia and Africa.
His first move was to go to DC and promise to increase the fire insurance premium to the gangsta MIC to 2.5% – was that in the manifesto? Is it mentioned in the Kings Speech? That is warmongering.
Let’s not pretend that the Collective Waste it is only threatened by approaching fascism We are already living happily in our dystopian fascist world shorn of our public services and public wealth. Through Thatcherism and more so Blairism. For nearly 45 years now.
The wars that we have been made party to, deaths of millions and poverty of many millions more ..
At home ? The gangster in No 10 is a not a ‘socialist’, does not care for public services , he is not a New Hope- he is but a fully fledged fascist by his many actions through his ‘career’.
Here’s a apt tweet from someone that explains us to us, via Arnaud Betrand
‘BladeoftheSun
@BladeoftheS
Jul 15
England has the only privatised Water in Europe, the most water pollution, and the most expensive water.
The UK has the only fully privatised energy, and the most expensive.
England has privatised rail, the slowest, least reliable and of course the most expensive in Europe.
Jul 15, 2024 · 2:44 PM UTC ‘
Is that true? If so where is the Hope and Change? With the death of the NHS and expensive medical insurance the have and have-nots. We are accelerating our return to Victorian levels. No need to worry about what’s coming ahead – war – Trump – fascists to the left and right – we are there already! We are the Bad Guys of the World.