Making sense of the King's speech

Following the election victory on 4 July, and the appointment of the government, the bills that are announced in the speech and in particular those which are first introduced into parliament help us to understand the direction and focus of the government. This analysis will consider both the overall approach of this government and what we can expect in the coming years, and then also the specific areas of interest that the Evangelical Alliance will be focusing on. 

The state opening of parliament is an ornate ceremonial occasion, but it is also a deeply political one. The government have the chance to put their plans before parliament in the terms that they choose. Even the labelling of proposed new laws is an exercise in political communications; it enables them to frame the issues in the way that they choose. That also means that commenting on a king’s speech is challenging because either you adopt the approach the government have taken – and can be seen as taking their side, or you critique it and instead appear to be supporting the opposition.

Sponsored

The speech, although delivered by the King, reflects the government’s agenda and following an election victory is an opportunity to turn the pledges made in the campaign into substantive policy proposals. The overall approach of this speech was not spectacular, there were no significant surprises, and it largely consisted of organising the various pledges into parts of legislation which parliament will consider in the coming year. 

This meant that changes to the planning system were at the centre of the speech, with the aim of delivering the government’s goal of building 1.5million houses over the next five years. Likewise, there were bills to nationalise the rail system and create the proposed GB Energy company to deliver energy investment and infrastructure. No fault evictions will be barred through a new law and broad legislation on crime and borders will be brought forward. 

The government has also proposed bringing back some proposed laws that did not complete their passage through parliament ahead of the election. This includes legislation to incrementally raise the legal age for smoking and introducing a new football regulator. 

Other manifesto pledges which the government intend to deliver through this parliament include changes to the House of Lords by removing hereditary peers and giving greater powers to local elected mayors. They will also implement the pledge to make private school fees subject to VAT and amend employment laws to address zero-hour contracts. 

There was not any legislation to lower the voting age to 16, or to deliver further reform to the House of Lords, nor despite significant pressure from within the Labour Party, was there amendment to the two-child limit on receiving means tested family benefits. 

There were a number of pieces of legislation announced in the King’s speech that the Evangelical Alliance will be particularly engaged in over the coming year. 

One proposal that was in the Labour Party’s manifesto and which we have been significantly engaged in over the past few years are plans to introduce a bill to tackle abusive conversion practices. The government intend to introduce a draft bill in the coming year, which means it would be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee before a full bill goes through the usual process. 

The Evangelical Alliance has repeatedly focused on two aspects of these proposals, the first, that abusive activity should not be tolerated and should be addressed through the law. In this regard we think existing laws should be used more effectively and the government need to demonstrate the gap that a new law would fill. Second, however, is our concern that legislation could hamper the ordinary work of churches and the everyday practices of Christians in preaching and teaching their beliefs, and providing, prayer and support to those who request it. A badly drafted law could have the impact of leaving people with questions around their sexuality or gender more isolated and alone because churches feel unable to offer support. 

The King’s speech carried forward previous proposals for a ​‘Martyn’s Law’ which would place a responsibility on venues open to the public to ensure they are addressing threats of terrorism. The Evangelical Alliance has worked on this issue extensively and the last government recognised the need for places of worship to be treated differently to other venues. However, we still had and continue to have concerns around the impact of the proposals while also wanting to encourage churches and Christian events to take seriously their responsibility for the safety of guests. 

One final proposal that we will be watching in the coming year are plans to introduce a register of children not in school, in particular those who are home educated. The primary concern here is not with the register as such, but that registration easily leads to regulation and one of the primary reasons parents choose to home educate is to provide an environment more in keeping with their values and beliefs that they do not find in the state education system. 

While not in the King’s speech parliament will also be considering a bill to introduce Assisted Suicide. This will begin in the House of Lords in the autumn and while the prime minister has previously said he will allow parliamentary time for a vote on this, this particular proposal may not be voted on in the House of Commons due to time considerations in the coming year. 

The government having set out their agenda will now introduce legislation into parliament for debate and votes over the coming months. The Evangelical Alliance will be monitoring these bills, as well as various other policy proposals and formation of commissions and inquiries into key issue areas. There will likely be opportunities to respond to consultations and have your voice heard, as well as to write to your MP to encourage them to support or oppose particular measures. 

It is also vital that we pray for all of those in authority, for more than half of those now serving in parliament this is a novel experience, and for virtually all in government it is there first time in such roles. We should pray that they lead with integrity, govern with wisdom and act for righteousness.