Pictures: Charles III Delivers First King's Speech to Parliament

In his first opening of Parliament address as reigning Monarch, King Charles laid out the priorities of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, particularly in terms of law and order in Britain.

In the first “King’s Speech” in seven decades, King Charles III conducted the state opening of Parliament on Tuesday. The ceremonial speech is an important part of the UK constitution in which a list of plans and priorities of the elected government in Downing Street is typically read before parliamentarians in the House of Lords by the reigning British Monarch.

Although it was not the first time that Charles delivered the speech, having filled in for his ailing mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, last year, it was the first time that he did so since ascending to the throne.

“It is mindful of the legacy of service and devotion to this country set by my beloved mother, the late Queen, that I deliver this, the first King’s Speech in over 70 years,” the King began.

“The impact of Covid and the war in Ukraine have created significant long-term challenges for the United Kingdom. That is why my Government’s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better.”

The government of Rishi Sunak wrote the speech to set an agenda ahead of next year’s expected general election. A central theme of the address was tackling crime and illegal immigration.

The King said:

“My Government will act to keep communities safe from crime, anti-social behaviour, terrorism and illegal migration. A Bill will be brought forward to ensure tougher sentences for the most serious offenders and increase the confidence of victims.

My ministers will introduce legislation to empower police forces and the criminal justice system to prevent new or complex crimes, such as digital-enabled crime and child sexual abuse, including grooming.

At a time when threats to national security are changing rapidly due to new technology, my ministers will give the security and intelligence services the powers they need and will strengthen independent judicial oversight.

Legislation will be introduced to protect public premises from terrorism in light of the Manchester Arena attack.

My Government will deliver on the Illegal Migration Act passed earlier this year and on international agreements to stop dangerous and illegal Channel crossings and ensure it is the Government, not criminal gangs, who decides who comes to this country.”

The speech comes a year after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took office as a result of a Westminster coup against short-termed former PM Liz Truss. Since then, Sunak has struggled to gain the support of the public, with his government failing to meaningfully reduce illegal or indeed legal immigration despite longstanding pledges from his party to do so.

A central tenet of Sunak’s ascension to power was to tackle mounting government debt and reduce inflation. He said that this would be accomplished by keeping taxes at their highest level since the Second World War, however, both economic issues have remained persistent a year later.

On the economy, the King said:

“My ministers will take steps to make the economy more competitive, taking advantage of freedoms afforded by the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union.

A Bill will be brought forward to promote trade and investment with economies in the fastest growing region in the world.

My ministers will continue to negotiate trade agreements with dynamic economies, delivering jobs and growth in the United Kingdom.

My ministers will introduce new legal frameworks to support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles, introduce new competition rules for digital markets, and encourage innovation in technologies such as machine learning.”

The King also confirmed plans from Rishi Sunak’s government plans to increase domestic fossil fuel production, which leftist critics have claimed will jeopardise the UK’s long-stated ambition for the country to achieve net zero emissions by the year 2050. However, the government argued that it is necessary to not place “undue burdens” on the public to meet climate goals.

King Charles said:

“Legislation will be introduced to strengthen the United Kingdom’s energy security, and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes.

This Bill will support the future licensing of new oil and gas fields, helping the country to transition to net zero by 2050 without adding undue burdens on households.”

The King will be making another public appearance this week. On Sunday, Charles and other members of the Royal Family as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer will lay wreaths at the national Cenotaph war memorial in observance of Armistice Day.

The weekend’s celebrations of fallen soldiers have become a contentious political issue given that pro-Palestinian activists have organised a large-scale anti-Israel protest in London, which many have described as deeply disrespectful to the nation’s war heroes.

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