The King’s Speech is written by the government and delivered by the Monarch at the State Opening of Parliament.
It marks the beginning of a new parliamentary year, or session, and is an opportunity for the government to set out its legislative agenda for the coming months.
In the speech, the government will typically set out bills which it intends to introduce to Parliament in the session ahead, as well as other policy priorities which do not require legislation.
When is the State Opening of Parliament?
The State Opening of Parliament takes place on the first day of a new parliamentary session.
Each parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament and runs for around 12 months.
Sessions are not a specified length, but there are normally five sessions in each Parliament. This means there are typically five sessions between each general election. A new parliamentary session will begin after every general election.
When a parliamentary session comes to an end the House is prorogued, which means the parliamentary year has formally ended until the next State Opening of Parliament.
What happens during the State Opening of Parliament?
The State Opening of Parliament begins with the Monarch’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.
The Monarch arrives at the Sovereign’s Entrance to Parliament and subsequently leads the Royal Procession to the chamber of the House of Lords.
A senior officer in the House of Lords known as Black Rod will then summon members of the House of Commons into the Lord’s Chamber to listen to the speech.
Before entering the Commons chamber, the door is shut in Black Rod’s face and the official will strike the door three times before it is opened. This practice dates back to the Civil War and symbolises the Commons’ independence from the monarchy.
When the Monarch leaves the chamber, a new parliamentary session begins.
Members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords will then debate the content of the speech for a number of days before the speech is voted on.
Did you know?
Traditions around the Monarch’s speech and the State Opening of Parliament can be traced back to the 16th century.
Before the Monarch arrives, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster for explosives to commemorate Guy Fawkes’s gunpowder plot of 1605.
The custom of Black Rod banging on the door of the Commons dates back to 1642, when Charles I tried to arrest five MPs, and symbolises the right of the Commons to exclude royal messengers.
The Imperial State Crown has 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and 4 rubies.
Kings speech 17th July 2024 – the government plans
The new Labour Government states it will use its mandate for change to put economic growth at the heart of its legislative agenda as it prepares for The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17th July 2025.
Departments are working on more than 35 bills that will be built on a bedrock of economic security, to enable growth that will improve the prosperity of the country and the living standards of working people.
Legislation will include a bill to enforce tough new spending rules, designed to ensure economic growth, while avoiding the chaos which left families with spiralling bills and wreaked misery on people’s lives.
This new bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer:
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.
His Majesty’s Most Gracious Speech will build on the momentum of the Government’s first week in office. Legislation to enact announcements made this week, including the launch of a National Wealth Fund to drive investment into the UK, to a new Mission Control tasked with turbocharging UK to clean power by 2030, to opening the recruitment of a new border security command..
The package of bills will focus on growing the economy through the building of houses and infrastructure, better transport, more jobs and securing clean energy – helping to make every part of the country better off.
As part of the Government’s plans to empower regions to deliver change for their communities, new legislation will also help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders who know what is best for their areas.
PAYadvice.UK 16/7/2024