Great Britain Pompous opening: King Charles reads out government plans
Almost two weeks after the change of government in the UK, King Charles III has opened Parliament with royal pomp.
17.07.2024, 15:27
SDA
The monarch read out the government program of the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The 61-year-old is the first head of government of the Social Democratic Labor Party in 14 years.
In the King's Speech, a whole series of legislative initiatives were announced with which Starmer intends to tackle problems such as the housing shortage, crumbling infrastructure and poor public transport links. "Stability will be the cornerstone of my government's economic policy," King Charles read from the program, which includes more than 35 laws. Economic growth is the "fundamental mission".
The 75-year-old King and his wife, Queen Camilla, who celebrated her 77th birthday on Wednesday, had previously arrived with much pomp by carriage in a procession from Buckingham Palace. The "State Opening of Parliament" is one of the most important dates in the royal and political calendar.
One of the legislative initiatives announced by the government is a reform of planning law. This is intended to simplify the construction of residential properties and major projects. Rail operators are to be gradually transferred to state ownership and more powers are to be transferred to local administrations. The rights of employees and tenants are to be strengthened.
A new state-owned company called GB Energy is to make investments in renewable energies more attractive. The increasing pollution of rivers and coasts is to be stopped with more rights for the supervisory authority for water suppliers. Time and again, people in the UK demonstrate against the discharge of untreated wastewater into the sea, for example.
A rapprochement with the EU is also on the agenda. Starmer has inherited plans for a new football regulator and a gradual ban on tobacco from the previous government.
