This King’s Speech will live long in the memory: not for its contents, but for its context. The long-planned state opening of Parliament today was intended to be a fireguard for the Prime Minister after the battering of last week’s local elections. Yet even constitutional screens can only do so much in the face of a forest fire engulfing No. 10.
With nearly 100 Labour MPs demanding Keir Starmer resign, today’s events have been overshadowed by the machinations of Wes Streeting. Ahead of the speech, the Health Secretary met Starmer for a 15-minute meeting chat, with confirmation breaking during the speech that he intends to resign tomorrow.
That very much set the tone for today’s proceedings. The face of Starmer throughout the speech was one of utter misery, with few of his ministers looking anything other than funereal. One exception was Jonathan Reynolds, the chief whip, who struggled to contain his laughter when Black Rod knocked three times and was met with a cry of ‘Not now Andy!’ Nervous laughter rippled round the Labour benches at that jibe against the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
This was the legislative equivalent of fish and chip paper
One Labour aide suggested that the event felt like the ‘Christmas Day truce’ of 1914, ahead of a resumption of hostilities tomorrow. Yet this felt like the 1918 Armistice, with MPs already throwing in the towel. When the list for this afternoon’s debate was published this morning, there was not a single Labour MP’s name down to speak – a health check which suggests this government’s condition is terminal.
The contents of today’s speech were pre-briefed and pedestrian. Resisting the temptation to archly raise an eyebrow, the King told parliament what ‘my government’ intends to do. Bills to tackle anti-Semitism, strengthen ties with the EU and reform special educational needs were among the more newsworthy items; efforts to improve cyber security, social housing and reduce business burdens among the kind of legislation which any Labour premier would seek to pass.
But, in truth, this was the legislative equivalent of fish and chip paper – a final stab at a programme to unite a party that is coming apart at the seams. Plans for worthy Labour causes like the removal of peerages, ban on conversion therapy or cleaning up the water industry will doubtless be taken forward. But it is unlikely to be Keir Starmer’s government who puts them into law.
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