King’s Speech 2024

King Charles delivered the Labour government’s first King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 in the House of Lords.

The King’s Speech marks the start of the parliamentary year and sets out the new Labour government’s priorities for the months ahead, following the party’s general election victory.

These are the highlights of the 2024 Speech:

• Measures will be brought forward to remove the exemption from value-added tax for private school fees.
• The new government wants to introduce an Employment Rights Bill, ‘the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation’. 
• Zero-hours contracts are to be banned as well as the “fire and rehire” trend along with giving employees basic employment rights from day one.
• The national minimum wage will also be set to a ‘genuine living wage’ through changes to the Low Pay Commission.
• The Pensions Scheme Bill ‘will be brought forward to strengthen pension investment. This will be achieved by consolidating old pension pots previously forgotten or lost by an individual into one pot, boosting their final savings amount.

Other points that were mentioned were:

• Improving the NHS.
• Introducing the Great British Energy company, which will be based in Scotland. 
• Launching a Border Security Command and nationalising train operators when their franchises expire by establishing the Great British Railway Company.