Sir Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech as Prime Minister outlined Labour’s legislative agenda for the new Parliament. He signalled the return of big government, with sweeping promises to nationalise the railways, energy and water, greater police powers, widen digital verification and more surveillance.
He also resurrected the Conservative’s plan to ban junk food advertising to children and Rishi Sunak’s phased smoking ban, proposing to gradually end the sale of tobacco products, meaning anyone born after 1 January 2009 will be unable to legally buy cigarettes in the UK in their lifetime. His plans also include imposing limits on the sale and marketing of vapes.
In the King’s Speech, a total of 40 bills were proposed, the most since Tony Blair’s government in 2005, with many pieces of legislation featuring the Government playing a more interventionist role.
Tom Tugendhat MP, the shadow security minister, said the King’s Speech showed that Labour was set on “giving more power” to unions and regulators that “control your lives.”
Robert Jenrick MP claimed Labour was pursuing radical net zero policies for “ideological reasons.”
Read more: Starmer unveils new era of Big State Britain, The Telegraph, 17 July 2024
It gets worse.
As Big Brother Watch pointed out, three important details included in the King’s Speech read out by King Charles have been overlooked by the media:
- The government will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.
- The government will legislate to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights (Employment Rights Bill).
- Legislation will be brought forward to strengthen community policing, give the police greater powers to deal with anti-social behaviour and strengthen support for victims (Crime and Policing Bill, Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill).
Another nefarious bill that is being introduced by the Starmer government, which was not specifically mentioned by King Charles in his speech on Wednesday, is the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill. It is however mentioned in the 104-page background briefing notes published on 16 July, where all 40 proposed bills are briefly described.
For an overview, you can read Global Government Fintech’s article about the smart data bill HERE. Not only does the name ‘Global Government Fintech’ ring alarm bells but the elation clearly shown in the publication’s article title, ‘‘Smart data’ legislation back in business as new UK government gets cracking’, rings the alarm bells even louder. The reason for their exuberance can be summed up in one sentence: “It will be keenly followed by those within and outside the public sector with an interest in capitalising on the possibilities of financial technology,” the article stated.
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