“Oh god! We’ve got a Labour government!” A delighted member of the Cabinet told me reality only finally hit them when driving through their constituency on Friday, more than a week after voters sent the Tories packing.
In the prime minister’s first seven days he’s been confronted with a deeply awkward situation abroad – President Joe Biden’s competence dominating the NATO summit.
At home the justice secretary has felt compelled to plan early prisoner releases (it’s unusual a politician would make a willing choice to do that), and doubts over the survival of the steel plant in Port Talbot linger.
In other words, Labour is already grappling with the tasks government requires them to do – not the options they would choose.
But on Wednesday their own plans will take centre stage, with all the fuss and fanfare Westminster can summon – the attendance of the King, the giant golden throne (yes, really!), the trumpets, the frills and flounces.
The first ‘King’s Speech’ will list the law the government hopes to pass in its first year of what Labour already hopes will be a decade in charge.
Do not expect Labour’s plans to include fireworks – no rabbits out of fancy hats.
Another Cabinet minister said: “‘We are still in the mode of no surprises, to do the job we are hired to do.”
The speech, however, will be absolutely stuffed with plans. Ministers have vied with each other to get their proposals in.
The message, I’m told, has been to do the work, get your stuff ready, and the sooner you can do that, the more likely you are to get a slot for it.
The speech will be “rooted in Keir’s missions”, another source said – those “six first steps” that we heard about so much in the election.
In case you can’t quite remember what they all were (like the now Health Secretary, Wes Streeting), you can refresh your memory here.
What might be in the speech?
Wednesday is the start of a drawn-out process of passing at least 30 bills. It will include a couple of dozen new laws, and completing some unfinished business from the old government, as Labour starts to translate its manifesto into new life.
Top of the list is getting the economy growing – No 10 and 11’s priority. So expect plans to shake up the planning system, encourage house building, and more powers for the government’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Look out for plans to create Great British Energy, the government’s energy company, to expand workers’ rights, to create the National Wealth Fund – using the power of the public purse for long term investment – and to grant new powers to authorities round the country away from Westminster in the Take Back Control bill (get it?).
There are likely to be two new bills from the Home Office – a border security bill so people smugglers can be treated like terrorists and a crime bill to tackle antisocial behaviour and county lines drug trafficking.
Plans to reform the Mental Health Act have been promised. Moving the rail industry into public ownership, votes for 16-year-olds and changes to the House of Lords have also been mooted.
Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban is expected to be followed through, along with the former government’s vow to end no fault evictions, and to bring in ‘Martyn’s Law’ – legislation to force venues to be prepared for terror attacks, named after one of the victims of the Manchester Arena tragedy. Plans to strengthen the regulation of AI are on the way too.
Ministers are under strict instruction not to be categoric about what has made the cut and what has not – even privately.
A huge amount of work for the speech was done before Labour’s election win was secure, but the protocol is that these announcements are the monarch’s to make.
So until the day itself, we cannot be completely sure if some of the more controversial plans have been passed over this time.
Be alert too to the promise of “reviews” or “consultations”. Sometimes taking a good look at a problem before new laws is the logical thing to do – on other occasions, it is a way of placating those arguing for action when ministers aren’t quite ready.
If an idea hasn’t made it into the speech this time around, it doesn’t mean it will never happen. Governments are always able to put forward other laws at a later date.
But the speech is the government’s formal to-do list, so Wednesday’s priorities are the government’s priorites.
Remember, Labour is in a hurry to show they can get things done. Lots of effort has gone in to draft laws that are “tight” and “workable” I’m told, and are ”whole Parliament proof” – meaning laws that can get through the House of Lords.
The government has a ginormous majority in the House of Commons, but they have a different audience on the red benches at the other end of the Palace of Westminster.
They don’t want to be picking time-consuming fights with the Lords, or creating laws that could be gummed up with hundreds of possible amendments – helpful tweaks – from their lordships.
Wednesday will be a huge moment.
The buglers will bugle. Black Rod will bang the door.
In a nod to the Gunpowder Plot of the 16th Century, the Yeomen of the Guard will conduct a ceremonial search for explosives.
The King will wear the crown, and put his name to Labour’s plans for the next couple of years.
Hundreds of new MPs will process through the Westminster’s historic halls.
And Sir Keir Starmer’s project in Parliament officially begins.
‘You cannot overstate how dysfunctional it has been’
Ministers have already been trying hard to tell a story of just how bad the state of the government is that they have inherited.
”You cannot overstate how dysfunctional it has been,” one minister told me.
The Justice Secretary late on Friday even accused the Tories of being the “guilty men”.
Clearly there is some information that is only available to those actually in government, but it is worth saying that much of the information new ministers are describing as a ‘shock’ – such as waiting lists and the size of the prison population – are a matter of public record.
As we discussed last week, there was a conscious decision by Labour, before they won the election, to tell the public “it’s worse than we thought”.
One former Tory minister said: “We need to call out this hokum”.
Declarations of surprise also don’t quite match Labour’s boast at being incredibly well prepared for government after months of careful homework and talks with senior officials.
But perhaps the shock of being in charge is genuine.
One member of the new government said: “I still wake up every morning thinking the previous day is a dream.”
The power is real. And on Wednesday we’ll learn more about how Labour plans to use it.
Top picture: Reuters
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