King’s Speech: Labour to announce around 35 bills on planning, devolution and fiscal rules

Wednesday’s King’s Speech, which is where a government sets out its legislative agenda, will include bills to supplement the announcements on the National Wealth Fund, Great British Energy and a new border security command.

It will also include reforms of the planning system, as set out in Rachel Reeves’ speech last week, which the new Chancellor says will increase house building and growth.

Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said it will be made up of “fully considered, worked-up bills”.

“We are putting forward a very ambitious, packed, fully costed, bold programme for this first session,” she told the BBC.

“It’s a downpayment on that change that we’ve got a mandate to deliver.

“We have been working on it for months, this is not just a shopping list of things we’d quite like to do, these are fully considered, worked-up bills that we know we can get through in this Parliamentary session. They will bring about that change.”

The new Labour government will also put forward legislation to enforce spending rules, which will strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Liz Truss famously ignored the OBR with her mini-Budget, which ended up spooking the markets and contributed to mortgage rates skyrocketing.

Downing Street confirmed this bill will mean “significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected”.

Ahead of the King’s Speech, the Prime Minister said: “Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste.

“We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.

“From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbo charge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.

“The task of national renewal will not be easy, and this is just the down payment on our plans for the next five years, but the legislation set out at the King’s Speech will build on the momentum of our first days in office and make a difference to the lives of working people.”

Votes could be given to 16 and 17-year-olds in the King’s Speech, while rail nationalisation is another bill which could be brought forward.

Labour is also expected to push through Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban, which failed to pass through Parliament originally because of the general election.

The Yorkshire Post previously reported how more powers over planning, skills and transport will be devolved to England’s metro mayors to “move the presumption of power” from Westminster with the Take Back Control Bill.

​Tracy Brabin has said this will mark a “new dawn” for dawn for regional government.

She told the Yorkshire Post: “The conversation about deeper devolution is going to be incredibly helpful, because we’re going to be in those rooms and round the table talking about us.

“What has happened for the last three years is decisions are being made about us, without us.”

The Mayor of West Yorkshire explained how the northern leg of HS2 was “pulled overnight without talking to local leaders”, which she said was “disrespectful” and “idiotic”.

Ms Brabin said she hoped mayors would be given planning powers over brownfield sites to help clear the housing waiting list.