Crime crackdown, smoking ban & move to end ‘rip-off’ airline fees confirmed in historic first King’s Speech in 70 years
RISHI Sunak unveiled his vision for Britain today as MPs and peers packed into the grand House of Lords to hear the King's Speech.
At the state opening of Parliament, King Charles outlined the main laws Mr Sunak hopes to deliver in the next 12 months - including a ban on fags, a huge increase in North Sea drilling and a vape tax.
He also announced plans to outlaw hated drip pricing, where businesses such as Ryanair and easyJet fail to disclose hidden fees to customers.
The occasion was a last chance saloon for the PM to sell himself to Britain ahead of a showdown General Election next year.
But even ministers admitted the speech was "thin gruel" and "meh".
With the Tories trailing Labour by around 20 points in the polls, the stakes couldn't have been higher.
Mr Sunak is desperate to convince the electorate that his plan for Britain is far more enticing than Sir Keir Starmer's.
READ MORE POLITICS
But he's running out of time to state his case.
A measly total of 21 laws were tee-d up by the King, including five carried over from the most recent Parliamentary session.
Fewer bills were announced today than at any Queen’s Speech for almost a decade.
A handful of the new laws have broad consensus across the Commons - including plans for a new Holocaust memorial in Westminster, stronger sentences for the Britain's most horrific criminals and new powers for police to retrieve stolen phones.
Analysis by The Sun's Political Editor Harry Cole
CERTAINLY a moment in history as King Charles III delivered the first King's Speech in 70 years, but not one that will go down in the annals of political bombshells.
Rishi Sunak will be praying that will not be his first and last legislative agenda unveiled as Prime Minister - but his odds are not looking great.
And from the measly 21 bills set out for the next 12 months, there was little really there to excite the Tory troops ahead of a brutal year of pre-election campaigning against a soaring Labour.
The PM had the mickey taken out him when he unveiled his tongue-twister slogan vowing "long-term decisions for a brighter future", but King Charles read out the election cry with his signature dead pan delivery.
The green-fingered monarch was also forced to read out a controversial massive increase in North Sea drilling as a flagship measure - but a policy that is likely to annoy as many voters as it wins over.
A smoking and vaping ban for kids, life sentences for sicko rapists and a sweeping clamp down on yobs may tee up the looming election battle - but all these measures were well trailed already.
The new football regulator was confirmed, and a green light for self-driving cars - but ministers and MPs were quick to lament “thin gruel” as time runs out for the Tories to turn around their fortunes.
All eyes will now turn to the Autumn Statement - with drum beat for tax cuts growing daily.
Calls for a big consumer friendly giveaway for MPs to sell on the doorstep will only grow louder now after a bit of a damp squib today.
Others are more controversial and were tailored to place clear blue water between the Government and Opposition.
Proposals for a new levy on e-cigs were buried in the small-print of today's King’s Speech and are likely to prove controversial.
Boosting North Sea oil and gas and a ban on local councillors taking foreign policy into their own hands and announcing boycotts of foreign states, were also among the contentious announcements.
The King's Speech at a glance
Growing the Economy
Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill
Licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea to be awarded annually. Seen as a key dividing line between the Tories and Labour.
Trade Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Bill
Legislation to implement the CPTPP - an agreement to join the giant Indo pacific trade bloc alongside Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
Automated Vehicles Bill
Paves the way for driverless buses and delivery vehicles on Britain's roads.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
New competition rules to crack down on consumer rip-offs and bad practices like fake reviews and subscription traps.
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
Modernises regulation so firms can grow and boost competition in the UK.
Media Bill
Reforms including scrapping a law that means newspapers are liable to pay the legal costs for both sides in libel and privacy cases, regardless of who won.
Arbitration Bill
Modernising law around dispute resolution.
Draft Rail Reform Bill
Lays foundation for plans to bring together network and passenger services into a new public rail body.
Strengthening Society
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
Phasing out all tobacco sales in England and rules to regulate flavours and descriptions of vapes.
Leasehold and Freehold Bill
Reform leasehold by extending the standard term from 90 years to 990 and reduce ground rent to £0.
Renters (Reform) Bill
Deliver manifesto commitment to abolish "no fault evictions" and introduce stronger powers to evict anti-social tenants.
Football Governance Bill
Legislation to set up a football regulator and licensing system under which clubs will have to operate.
Pedicabs Bill
Will allow Transport for London to regulate pedicabs with a licensing regime.
Holocaust Memorial Bill
Return of the bill to support construction of the new Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens near Parliament.
Animal Welfare Bill
Banning the live export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. Ensure animals are slaughtered domestically.
Economic Activities of Public Bodies Bill
Plans to fine public bodies which initiate boycotts against foreign countries. Plan by Michael Gove aimed at boycotts of Israel.
Keeping People Safe
Sentencing Bill
Convicted rapists will have to spend their entire sentence in prison rather than be eligible for parole at the halfway point.
Criminal Justice Bill
Force defendants to attend their sentencing hearing and criminalise the sharing of intimate images.
Investigatory Powers Bill
Force tech companies to inform the Home Office in advance of new security and privacy features they want to add - and to disable them if the Government objects.
Terrrorism Bill
Aimed at protecting public buildings from terrorism following the Manchester Arena attack. Certain venues will have to take steps to mitigate the impact of an attack.
Victims and Prisoners Bill
Reforms to help crime victims and more minister control over release of dangerous offenders. Implementation of Jade's Law which will remove rights of parental responsibility from killers.
From a gold plated throne in the Lords Chamber, His Majesty said: "My government will, in all respects, seek to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations.
"My ministers will address inflation and the drivers of low growth over demands for greater spending or borrowing.
"My ministers will put the security of communities and the nation ahead of the rights of those who endanger it."
The King added: "By taking these long term decisions, my Government will change this country and build a better future."
Notably, certain bills promised in the last State Opening of Parliament, which didn't make it to the statute book, were missing from this year's King's Speech.
The PM left out a promised ban on LGBT+ conversion therapy, gambling reform and the formation of a new regulator to ensure petrol stations don't rip off motorists by inflating prices.
Responding to the King's Speech in the Commons, Mr Sunak insisted he has "turned the corner" to "put the country on a better path".
He added: "These immediate priorities are not the limit of our ambition.
"They are just the foundations of our plan to build a better future for our children and grandchildren, and deliver the change the country needs.
"With this historic King's Speech, we are rising to that challenge. We are changing our country for the long term, delivering a brighter future."
Sir Keir hit back, slamming the address as a "new low" that amounted to a "plan for more of the same".
He criticised the oil policy as a "political gimmick" which will "not take a single penny off anyone's bills".
"What we have before us is a plan for more of the same, more sticking plasters, more division, more party first, country second gimmicks and no repudiation of the utterly discredited idea that economic growth is something the few hand down to the many," the Labour chief said.
"In fact, today we reached something of a new low because they are not even pretending to govern any more.
"They have given up on any sense of service."
Responding to the King's Speech, Becca Lyon, head of child poverty at Save the Children UK, said: "Welfare reforms that only focus on getting people into work, as mentioned in the King's Speech, would be the wrong focus at the wrong time.
"We are still in the midst of an appalling cost of living crisis and if the UK government is really interested in strengthening the social fabric of the UK, they should make sure those on the lowest incomes get more support.
"Universal Credit is failing families and the UK government must commit to raising benefits in line with inflation at the very least."
Here are the main announcements from today's speech:
Smoking ban
Smoking cigarettes will be banished in Britain for youngsters.
The PM will mount an historic crackdown on cigarettes by raising the legal age every year until there are no smokers left.
The new plans mean a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette.
The tough new anti-smoking measures will see the smoking age increased by a year every year to eventually make it illegal for anyone to buy cigarettes.
The ban will be subject to a "free vote" in Parliament, meaning MPs won't be instructed how to vote by party enforcers.
But Labour has confirmed its aligned with the Government on the ban, so the new law should fly through Parliament.
Driverless cars and buses
New laws will give the green light to self driving cars and buses.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the technology will make our roads safer and boost jobs.
It's thought the introduction of the technology will create some 38,000 jobs in Britain and be worth £42billion to the economy.
The Government has confirmed that £100million was being provided to get the tech and infrastructure up and running.
Only features such as lane-keeping technology will be legal at first, with greater autonomy that allows the driver to check emails or watch TV coming in 2025.
It's also hoped that some buses and delivery vehicles will be able to operate without a driver at all by the same year.
Crime crackdown
The PM will try to prove he's tough on crime after the King announced a string of measures to keep society's monsters behind bars for longer.
Under the new Sentencing Bill, the most horrific murderers will face the rest of their lives locked up, including for any murder involving sexual or sadistic conduct.
The Bill will also make sure vile criminals who commit rape and other serious sexual offences face the full consequences of their actions and spend every day of their sentence behind bars, instead of being eligible for parole half way through.
Judges will also be given more powers to make sure criminals attend court when their sentences are handed down - so they are forced to hear directly from victims and enable victims' families to have true justice.
In a major win for Brits everywhere the police will be given new powers to retrieve stolen goods such as iPhones without a warrant.
Officers won't have to get permission from a judge to raid a property if they have reasonable proof stolen goods are inside.
The proof burden will include tracking apps such as Find My iPhone.
Renters Reform
The Renters Reform Bill will be carried over from the last Parliamentary session into the new one.
The long awaited legislation will see hated section 21 no fault evictions eventually banned.
However, ministers haven't put a time frame on when the ban will actually come into force.
Other rules will also be introduced to crackdown on bad landords.
A new Private Renters' Ombudsman will be created to help private renters and landlords settle disputes quickly.
And tenants will be given the right to request a pet in their house.
Landlords will have to consider any request and won't be able to refuse it without a good reason.
Drilling licences
In a major move to create distance between himself and Sir Keir, the PM will introduce a new law to boost the production of gas in Britain.
Big oil companies will be able to make yearly bids for licenses to drill in the North Sea.
The policy is designed to bring down prices and ensure Brits aren't dependent on foreign tyrants such as Mad Vlad Putin to provide vital gas and electricity.
Football Regulator
The King today confirmed that his Government is going ahead with plans to create a new body to oversee the beautiful game.
The move, recommended by the fan-led review which was fronted by former sports minister Tracey Crouch, has cross-party support.
The Bill required to create the regulator - equivalent to Ofwat, which oversees the water industry - could be introduced before the end of the year.
But it will take some time for the legislation to be debated and passed. It is expected that only a framework will be in place in time for the start of next season, with the full regulatory body unlikely to start operating with full powers before 2025-26.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Premier League, EFL and Football Association have all, with differing levels of commitment, resisted independent regulation.
But scandals such as the financial management at League One Reading have only strengthened the case that football is incapable of running itself properly.