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Britain: King Charles will be doing more than setting out the British government’s legislative agenda at the opening of parliament on Tuesday. The 74-year-old will be effectively launching Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bid to keep his Conservative Party in power at a general election expected next year.

The King’s Speech is one of the biggest remaining chances for Sunak, who is trailing Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour Party by about 20 points in opinion polls, to convince voters he is pursuing policies they want. Crime, energy and housing are expected to feature heavily as he tries to get Labour on the back foot.

King Charles III will sit on a gilded throne and read out the King’s Speech during the opening of parliament at Westminster. The speech will be a list of planned laws drawn up by the government and likely aimed at winning over voters ahead of an election next year. Credit: AP

Violent criminals will be locked up for longer, offenders will be forced to appear in court for sentencing, and police will get extra powers to tackle “everyday” crime and antisocial behaviour, Sunak’s office said. The move is aimed at restoring the governing party’s claim to be tough on crime, but without wider reform of clogged-up courts and overcrowded prisons, it is unlikely to lead to fundamental change in the criminal justice system.

“I want everyone across the country to have the pride and peace of mind that comes with knowing your community … is safe. That is my vision of what a better Britain looks like,” Sunak said in a statement before the speech.

“We must always strive to do more, taking the right long-term decisions for the country and keeping the worst offenders locked up for longer. In the most despicable cases, these evil criminals must never be free on our streets again.

With the King’s Speech at 9.30am (8.30pm AEDT) on Tuesday, Sunak will introduce a raft of legislation such as the Sentencing Bill that means convicted murderers, who carry out sexually motivated attacks, will automatically remain in jail for the rest of their lives with no prospect of release.

“Life needs to mean life,” Sunak said.

The government also plans to mandate annual licensing rounds for North Sea oil and gas, which it says will give certainty to investors, protect jobs, and reduce reliance on “hostile states” for energy. It also creates a clear dividing line with Labour, which has pledged to ban new licences to focus on renewable energy.

The plan fits Sunak’s recent loosening of green and environmental policies, which is calculated to appeal to voters by presenting the government as easing the financial burden during a cost-of-living crisis. The prime minister’s office said in an emailed statement the plan would ultimately lead to a more diverse energy mix and “help to lower household bills in the long-term.”

Meanwhile senior figures in Sunak’s administration spent the weekend setting the political tone for the King’s Speech, even if not all measures they set out are confirmed to have made the final cut.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman triggered anger, including in the Conservative Party, when she said she wants to restrict the use of tents by homeless people as part of a wider crime crackdown, saying there are people, “many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice”.

Her comments play to her political base on the right of the Tory party, which typically argues that the UK suffers from excessive immigration and that the state spends too much on welfare benefits and measures to support the poor. Sunak declined to criticise Braverman when asked by reporters, saying only that he doesn’t “want anyone to sleep rough on our streets.”

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, also confirmed the government was looking at redefining “extremism”, though he declined to comment on an Observer newspaper report that officials want it to include anyone who undermines the country’s institutions and values.

The King’s Speech, which kickstarts the new parliamentary session, is one of the dwindling number of set piece events for Sunak to try to wrestle back some momentum from Labour. There’s also the fiscal statement on November 22, and he’s widely expected to shuffle his top team of ministers in the coming weeks.

A budget in the northern spring could be the last major intervention before a general election, which must be called by January 2025 but people familiar with the matter have said is planned for autumn 2024.

“The Tories can’t fix the country because they’ve already failed,” Starmer said in an emailed statement. “With a legacy of stagnant growth, skyrocketing mortgages, soaring prices and crumbling schools and hospitals, Rishi Sunak admits the country needs to change; but this government cannot deliver it.”

Bloomberg, Reuters

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