What will be in the King’s speech? Here’s what we’re expecting – from smoking crackdown to focus on crime
Westminster will be awash with pomp and ceremony today as parliament hosts the King’s Speech.
But what will the day involve and how will it play out? And what plans for the country’s future are likely to be unveiled?
Read on to find out all you need to know.
What is the King’s Speech?
While a parliament – meaning the period of time between general elections – can last for up to five years, a new parliamentary session is normally launched annually. It gives the government of the day a chance to outline its legislative plans for the year ahead.
The start of a new session is marked with the grandest of ceremonies, the State Opening of Parliament.
It brings together members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, as well as the monarchy, dressed up in their finest regalia for the day ahead. Look out for the robes, britches and, of course, the crown.
After numerous traditions are played out – from searching the bowels of the building for gunpowder to slamming a door in Black Rod’s face – peers and MPs gather in front of the monarch to listen to them deliver the King’s (or Queen’s) Speech.
The then Prince of Wales delivered the speech on his mother’s behalf in May 2022
While the address may be read out by the head of state, the content is written by the government and sees their legislative agenda given a stately introduction to the ears of parliamentarians and the public.
The speech will fall to King Charles III in his first state opening as monarch – though he had a dry run back in May 2022, when he stood in for his mother due to her mobility issues.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From 2022: How Charles stepped up for the Queen’s Speech
The late Queen Elizabeth II delivered the speech a total of 67 times during her reign, and only missed it on a handful of occasions, including when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward.
After the document is read out, MPs return to the Commons and spend around five days debating its content, but not before two backbench MPs nominated by the prime minister kick off proceedings by giving a loyal address to parliament – a light-hearted affair, often littered with some cringeworthy jokes.
What will the speech mean for Rishi Sunak?
This is the first time this prime minister has had his plans delivered in a King’s Speech since he moved in to Number 10.
Liz Truss’s short premiership meant she missed out on this particular spotlight for her policy agenda. Boris Johnson was the last prime minister to oversee a state opening 18 months ago.
Read more:
King’s Speech: Plans centred around criminal justice to be unveiled
King will have to announce measures we know he’s bound to dislike
Hard to see how Sunak’s first King’s Speech won’t be his last – analysis
King’s Speech live: Watch our special programme on Sky News, hosted by Sophy Ridge, from 10.30am today. You will also be able to follow the event live via the Politics Hub on the Sky News app and website.
Tuesday’s ceremony is likely to be the final King’s Speech of this parliament as Mr Sunak will have to call a general election by the end of January 2025 at the latest.
That means it may also be his last chance to show both his party and the public what he stands for, following his first year of trying to steady the ship after the chaos surrounding last autumn’s revolving door in Downing Street.
Mr Sunak will also need to bring his MPs and members with him to ensure they back his leadership going into the looming general election, so he may choose to be cautious with his priorities – while throwing some red meat to please particular wings of the Conservative Party.
But the upcoming national poll also leaves questions over how much legislation the prime minister and his government can push through in a short space of time – during which MPs will also want to be out on the doorstep campaigning to keep their seats.
What will be in the speech?
While the spectacle of the speech is designed for a new legislative agenda to be proposed, the government can also “carry over” some bills from the previous session that it was unable to pass into law.
According to the House of Commons Library, five carry-over motions have been agreed for bills, giving them another 12 months to achieve royal assent, namely:
• Data Protection and Digital Information (No 2) Bill – which aims to update the UK’s data protection laws post-Brexit
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill – which proposes new powers to improve competition between online businesses and new protections for consumers
• Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill – which would introduce a ban on public bodies, such as councils, from boycotting other countries, with a special status for Israel
• Victims and Prisoners Bill – which aims to improve support for victims of crime, along with reform of the parole system
• Renters (Reform) Bill – which features proposed changes to regulations covering the rented housing sector
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Life as a renter in the UK
Two so-called “hybrid” bills will also continue to be scrutinised in the next parliament – one on the future of the northern leg of HS2, which was scrapped by Mr Sunak at his party’s conference, and one on a Holocaust memorial in Westminster.
The Commons’ researchers have also highlighted several bills announced in the last session that were never officially introduced, meaning they could return under Mr Sunak.
They include the much-touted ban on conversion therapy – though some on the right of the party could influence Number 10 to chuck it out – as well as further measures to tackle modern slavery and a transport bill to bring in some of the HS2 replacement projects announced by the prime minister.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The key moments from 2022’s Queen’s Speech
What new proposals are we expecting?
Ministers have already confirmed there will be a bill to phase out leaseholds, with all new houses in England and Wales having to be sold as freehold properties.
Mr Sunak’s party conference announcement to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year to phase out smoking is sure to get a showing too.
But reports suggest the major focus will be on crime, not just with existing plans being finalised – such as compelling criminals to attend sentencing – but with the introduction of bills to introduce tougher sentences for serious crimes, such as rape, and a scheme to rent prison space abroad.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How would a smoking ban work?
The prime minister is also expected to accelerate his plans to disrupt existing net zero policies with the introduction of an annual system to award new oil and gas licences.
Meanwhile, the government could give its backing to establishing an independent football regulator.
By lunchtime on Tuesday, we will have the full list of what Mr Sunak has in store.
It could either be his springboard to winning the next election – or his last legislative dance while still holding the keys to Number 10.
A fast-tracked temporary crypto regulatory framework could bolster innovation within the US crypto industry while permanent regulations are still in the works, says acting US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Mark Uyeda.
“A time-limited, conditional exemptive relief framework for registrants and non-registrants could allow for greater innovation with blockchain technology within the United States in the near term,” Uyeda said at the SEC’s April 11 Crypto Task Force roundtable titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading.”
Relief measures may address immediate challenges
Uyeda said this might be the short-term answer as the SEC works toward a “long-term solution,” at the roundtable with SEC members and crypto industry executives, including Uniswap Labs’ Katherine Minarik, Cumberland DRW’s Chelsea Pizzola, and Coinbase’s Gregory Tusar.
He flagged state-by-state regulation of crypto trading as a concern, warning it could lead to a “patchwork of state licensing regimes.”
Uyeda said that a favorable federal regulatory framework would ease the burden for market participants wishing to offer tokenized securities and non-security crypto assets, allowing them to operate under a single SEC license instead of navigating “fifty different state licenses.”
He urged crypto market participants to share feedback on areas where “exemptive relief” could be appropriate.
Uyeda also reiterated the benefits of blockchain technology in financial markets during the roundtable discussion.
“Blockchain technology offers the potential to execute and clear securities transactions in ways that may be more efficient and reliable than current processes,” Uyeda said.
Uyeda to fill chair position until Atkins is sworn in
“Blockchains can be used to manage and mobilize collateral in tokenized form to increase capital efficiency and liquidity,” he added.
Uyeda will continue serving as acting SEC chair until US President Donald Trump’s nominee, Paul Atkins, is officially sworn in.
On April 10, the US Senate confirmed Atkins as chair of the SEC in a 52-44 vote largely along party lines.
Related: SEC, Ripple file joint motion to pause appeals in XRP case
Uyeda has served as acting SEC chair since Jan. 20, succeeding former chair and crypto skeptic Gary Gensler. He’s been widely seen within the industry as a pro-crypto advocate.
On March 18, Cointelegraph reported that Uyea said the SEC could change or scrap a rule proposed under the Biden administration that would tighten crypto custody standards for investment advisers.
“I have asked the SEC staff to work closely with the crypto task force to consider appropriate alternatives, including its withdrawal,” Uyeda said.
Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
Trump kills DeFi broker rule in major crypto win: Finance Redefined, April 4–11
In a significant win for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, US President Donald Trump overturned the Internal Revenue Service’s DeFi broker rule, which would have expanded existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms.
Increasing US crypto regulatory clarity will attract more tech giants to the space, requiring existing crypto projects to focus on more collaborative tokenomics to survive, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
Trump signs resolution killing IRS DeFi broker rule
Trump signed a joint congressional resolution overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
Set to take effect in 2027, the IRS DeFi broker rule would have expanded the tax authority’s existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms, requiring them to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
Trump formally killed the measure by signing off on the resolution on April 10, marking the first time a crypto bill has been signed into US law, Representative Mike Carey, who backed the bill, said in a statement.
“The DeFi Broker Rule needlessly hindered American innovation, infringed on the privacy of everyday Americans, and was set to overwhelm the IRS with an overflow of new filings that it doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle during tax season,” he said.
Crypto needs collaborative tokenomics against tech giants — Hoskinson
The next generation of cryptocurrency projects must embrace a more collaborative approach to compete with major centralized tech companies entering the Web3 space, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.
Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Hoskinson said one of the main criticisms of the crypto and DeFi space is its “circular economy,” which often means that the rally of a specific cryptocurrency is bolstered by funds exiting another token, limiting the growth of the whole industry.
Hoskinsin said that to have a chance against the centralized technology giants joining the Web3 industry, cryptocurrency projects need more collaborative tokenomics and market structure.
Hoskinson on stage at Paris Blockchain Week. Source: Cointelegraph
“The problem right now, with the way we’ve done things in the cryptocurrency space, is the tokenomics and the market structure are intrinsically adversarial. It’s sum 0,” said Hoskinson. “Instead of picking a fight, what you have to do is you have to find tokenomics and market structure that allows you to be in a cooperative equilibrium.”
He argued that the current environment often sees one crypto project’s growth come at the expense of another rather than contributing to the sector’s overall health. He added that this is not sustainable in the face of trillion-dollar firms like Apple, Google and Microsoft, which may soon join the Web3 race amid clearer US regulations.
Bitcoin’s 24/7 liquidity: Double-edged sword during global market turmoil
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are often praised for offering around-the-clock trading access, but that constant availability may have contributed to a steep sell-off over the weekend following the latest US trade tariff announcement.
Unlike stocks and traditional financial instruments, Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies enable payments and trading opportunities 24/7 thanks to the accessibility of blockchain technology.
After a record-breaking $5 trillion was wiped from the S&P 500 over two days — the worst drop on record — Bitcoin remained above the $82,000 support level. But by Sunday, the asset had plummeted to under $75,000.
Sunday’s correction may have occurred due to Bitcoin being the only large tradable asset over the weekend, according to Lucas Outumuro, head of research at crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock.
“There was a bit of optimism last week that Bitcoin might be uncorrelating and fairing better than traditional stocks, but the [correction] did accelerate over the weekend,” Outumuro said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:
“There’s very little people can sell on a Sunday because most markets are closed. That also enables the correlation because people are panicking and Bitcoin is the largest asset they can sell over the weekend.”
Outumuro noted that Bitcoin’s weekend trading can also have upside effects, as prices often rally in calmer conditions.
Bybit recovers market share to 7% after $1.4 billion hack
Bybit’s market share rebounded to pre-hack levels following a $1.4 billion exploit in February, as the crypto exchange implemented tighter security and improved liquidity options for retail traders.
The crypto industry was rocked by the largest hack in its history on Feb. 21, when Bybit lost over $1.4 billion in liquid-staked Ether (stETH), Mantle Staked ETH (mETH) and other digital assets.
Despite the scale of the exploit, Bybit has steadily regained market share, according to an April 9 report by crypto analytics firm Block Scholes.
“Since this initial decline, Bybit has steadily regained market share as it works to repair sentiment and as volumes return to the exchange,” the report stated.
Block Scholes said Bybit’s proportional share rose from a post-hack low of 4% to about 7%, reflecting a strong and stable recovery in spot market activity and trading volumes.
Bybit’s spot volume market share as a proportion of the market share of the top 20 CEXs. Source: Block Scholes
The hack occurred amid a “broader trend of macro de-risking that began prior to the event,” which signaled that Bybit’s initial decline in trading volume was not solely due to the exploit.
Nearly 400,000 FTX users risk losing $2.5 billion in repayments
Almost 400,000 creditors of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX risk missing out on $2.5 billion in repayments after failing to begin the mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process.
About 392,000 FTX creditors have failed to complete or at least take the first steps of the mandatory Know Your Customer verification, according to an April 2 court filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
FTX users originally had until March 3 to begin the verification process to collect their claims.
“If a holder of a claim listed on Schedule 1 attached thereto did not commence the KYC submission process with respect to such claim on or prior to March 3, 2025, at 4:00 pm (ET) (the “KYC Commencing Deadline”), 2 such claim shall be disallowed and expunged in its entirety,” the filing states.
FTX court filing. Source: Bloomberglaw.com
The KYC deadline has since been extended to June 1, giving users another chance to verify their identity and claim eligibility. Those who fail to meet the new deadline may have their claims permanently disqualified.
According to the court documents, claims under $50,000 may account for about $655 million in disallowed repayments, while claims over $50,000 could amount to $1.9 billion, bringing the total at-risk funds to more than $2.5 billion.
DeFi market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.
The EOS (EOS) token fell over 23%, marking the week’s biggest decline in the top 100, followed by the Near Protocol (NEAR) token, down over 19% on the weekly chart.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
Politics
This is a remarkable step by the government – and Donald Trump, China and Reform UK have all played their part
When the sun sets on Scunthorpe this Saturday, the town’s steelworks will likely have a new boss – Jonathan Reynolds.
The law that parliament will almost certainly approve this weekend hands the business secretary the powers to direct staff at British Steel, order raw materials and, crucially, keep the blast furnaces at the plant open.
This is not full nationalisation.
But it is an extraordinary step.
The Chinese firm Jingye will – on paper – remain the owner of British Steel.
But the UK state will insert itself into the corporate set-up to legally override the wishes of the multinational company.
A form of martial law invoked and applied to private enterprise.
That will come at a cost to the taxpayer.
Follow latest: Live politics updates
No number has been specified, but there are wages to pay and orders to make at a site estimated to already be losing £700,000 a day.
There is also clear frustration in government at how the Chinese owners have engaged in negotiations around modernising the Scunthorpe site.
“Jingye have not been forthright throughout this process”, said the business secretary in his department’s official announcement about the new laws.
Time is so tight because of the nature of the steel-making process.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Inside the UK’s last blast furnaces
Once switched off, blast furnaces are very hard to turn back on.
If this had happened in Scunthorpe – as seemed likely in a matter of days – then it would have been game over.
This move keeps the show on the road and opens up more time for talks over the long-term future of the plant.
While the official line in Whitehall is that “all options are on the table”, nationalisation seems increasingly likely.
That would need more legislation, if it was done – as seems likely – without the approval of the current owner.
Finding an alternative commercial partner has not been ruled out, but one is not waiting in the wings either.
As for what that long-term future looks like, with just five years of life left in the Scunthorpe blast furnaces, modernisation is inevitable.
Port Talbot’s plant saw its blast furnaces closed last year amid a switch to the more environmentally friendly electric arc furnaces and a loss of thousands of jobs.
A general view shows British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.
Pic Reuters
Political figures in Wales are now questioning why nationalisation wasn’t on the table for this site.
The response from government is that the deal was done by the previous Tory administration and the owners of the South Wales site agreed to the terms.
But there is also a sense that this decision over British Steel is being shaped by the domestic and international political context.
Labour came to power promising to revitalise left-behind communities and inject a sense of pride back into places still reeling from the loss of traditional industry.
With that in mind, it would be politically intolerable to see the UK’s last two blast furnaces closed and thousands of jobs lost in a relatively deprived part of the country.
Read more from Sky News:
Michael Gove handed peerage
Tickets on sale for Electoral Dysfunction live show
Badenoch denies supporting local coalitions
One of the two blast furnaces at British Steel’s Scunthorpe operation
Reform UK’s position of pushing for full and immediate nationalisation is also relevant, given the party is in electoral pursuit of Labour in many parts of the country where decline in manufacturing has been felt most acutely.
The geo-political situation is perhaps more pressing though.
Just look at the strength of the prime minister’s language in his Downing Street address – “our economic and national security are all on the line”.
The government’s reaction to the turmoil caused by President Donald Trump’s pronouncements on tariffs and security has been to emphasise the need to increase domestic resilience in both business and defence.
Becoming the only G7 nation unable to produce virgin steel at a time when globalisation appears to be in retreat hardly fits with that narrative.
It would also present serious practical questions about the ability of the UK to produce steel for defence and the broader switch to green energy production.
Then there is the intriguing subplot around US-China trade.
While this decision is separate from discussions with the White House on tariffs, one can imagine how a UK move to wrestle control of a site of national importance from its Chinese owner might go down with a US president currently engaged in a fierce trade war with Beijing.
This is a remarkable step from the government, but it is more a punctuation mark than a full answer.
The tension between manufacturing and decarbonisation remains, as do the challenges presented by a global economy appearing to fragment significantly.
But one thing is for sure.
As a political parable about changes to traditional industry and the challenges of globalisation, the saga of British Steel is hard to beat.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway