The government’s policies for the upcoming year will be unveiled during the King’s Speech on Tuesday, with a pledge to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans.
The speech – devised by the prime minister, but delivered by King Charles – will include details of a Sentencing Bill to ensure whole life orders are handed down to the “most horrific murderers”, and that rapists spend more time in jail.
There will also be a pledge for a Criminal Justice Bill to give tougher sentences to grooming gang members, and to make murdering a partner at the end of a relationship a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing.
And there will be a promise to continue work on the Victims and Prisoners Bill, which will include stopping parole for the worst offenders and preventing them from marrying in prison.
King’s Speech live: Watch our special programme on Sky News, hosted by Sophy Ridge, from 10.30am on Tuesday. You will also be able to follow the event live via the Politics Hub on the Sky News app and website.
Speaking ahead of his first King’s Speech since taking power – and possibly the last ahead of the general election – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I want everyone across the country to have the pride and peace of mind that comes with knowing your community, where you are raising your family and taking your children to school, is safe. That is my vision of what a better Britain looks like.
“Thanks to this government, crime is down, but we must always strive to do more, taking the right long-term decisions for the country and keeping the worst offenders locked up for longer.
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“In the most despicable cases, these evil criminals must never be free on our streets again. Life needs to mean life.”
But Labour’s shadow justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, accused the government of “using the most significant event in the parliamentary calendar to simply repackage ideas they’ve announced multiple times”.
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She added: “There’s no use posturing on law and order when the criminal justice system is crumbling under the government’s feet after 13 years of mismanagement.”
The speech will be the central focus of Tuesday’s state opening of parliament – an almost annual event to launch the new parliamentary session that sees pomp and pageantry at every turn – setting out the government’s policy agenda for the coming year.
In the hours before, the government confirmed a raft of legislation to feature, including:
• Sentencing Bill – giving whole life orders to the worst murders, including any that involve sexual or sadistic conduct, with only a judge able to choose not to impose the sentence in exceptional circumstances, and making those who commit rape or other serious sexual offences spend their entire sentence in jail;
• Criminal Justice Bill – creating statutory aggravating factors (which can lead to longer sentences) for members of grooming gangs or those who murder their partner, making criminals attend their sentencings or face extra time in jail, and allowing the police to enter a premises without a warrant to seize stolen goods;
• Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill – to update existing powers for the UK’s intelligence agencies to tackle “evolving threats and technological advancements” used by criminals;
• Victims and Prisoners Bill – carried over from the last parliamentary session, aiming to improve support for victims of crime, along with reform of the parole system.
Other legislation expected to feature includes:
• New minimum service levels for rail, border security staff and ambulance workers – leading to fury from unions
• A bill to phase out leaseholds, with all new houses in England and Wales having to be sold as freehold properties;
• Plans raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year to phase out smoking, announced by Mr Sunak at the Conservative Party conference;
• In a statement released on Saturday night, the government also promised to put in “the right laws… to safeguard the future prosperity of the United Kingdom, seize economic opportunities and deliver a brighter future”;
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked the government ahead of their announcements, saying: “The Tories can’t fix the country because they’ve already failed.
“With a legacy of stagnant growth, sky-rocketing mortgages, soaring prices and crumbling schools and hospitals, Rishi Sunak admits the country needs to change; but this government cannot deliver it.”
Sir Keir added: “Labour has a plan to give Britain its future back. Whether this tired Conservative Party can match the scale of our ambitious reform is the test for them today.”
Lisa Nandy has said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of football tickets was “very sensible”.
The minister for culture, media and sport also said she had never accepted free clothes from a donor.
Speaking to Sky News at the start of the Labour Party conference today, the MP for Wigan said: “The problem that has arisen since [Sir Keir] became leader of the opposition and then prime minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail, would be disruptive for other people and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money.
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“So I think he’s taken a very sensible decision that’s not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it’s right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area.
“But I know that he’d much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he’s been going to the football with for years.”
Ms Nandy also said while she has not accepted free clothes – joking “I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes sadly” – she doesn’t “make any judgements about what other members of parliament do”.
She said: “The only judgement I would make is if they’re breaking the rules, so they’re trying to hide what they’re doing. That’s when problems arise.
“Because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there’s been any undue influence.”
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She asserted there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by senior Labour figures, adding: “We don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes.
“We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things. We don’t claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind.
“MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”
She added: “I don’t think there’s any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don’t think there’s any suggestion that he’s done anything wrong.
“We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.
“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”
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The announcement followed criticism of Sir Keir’s gifts from donors, which included clothing worth £16,200 and multiple pairs of glasses worth £2,485, according to the MPs’ register of interests.
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Sir Keir was found to have received substantially more gifts and freebies than any other MP – his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topped £100,000 since December 2019.