What was in this year’s King’s Speech?

• LIVE: Reaction to the 2023 King’s Speech
• What is the King’s Speech and why is it important?

• A Sentencing Bill will require whole-life sentences for the worst murders, mean rapists cannot be released early, and make it more likely short sentences for lesser crimes are served in the community
• A Criminal Justice Bill will introduce measures to force criminals to appear in the dock, and give police new powers to enter buildings without a warrant to seize stolen goods
• The already-published Victims and Prisoners Bill would prevent certain prisoners from marrying, create new rights for crime victims, and deliver Jade’s Law on parental rights

• An Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill will give law enforcement agencies greater access to certain personal data, and make tech companies clear security features with the Home Office
• The existing Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill will deliver Martyn’s law, forcing UK venues to draw up anti-terror plans

• A Leasehold and Freehold Bill will ban leaseholds for new houses, but not new flats, in England and Wales, and increase the standard lease extension period to 990 years
• The existing Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver a long-promised ban on “no-fault” evictions in England but this will only come into force after reforms to the court system

• Licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea to be awarded annually, under the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill
• An Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill will ban the export of cattle from Great Britain for fattening and slaughter

• An Automated Vehicles Bill will set a legal framework in Great Britain for self-driving cars
• Pledges to strengthen consumer rights online and tackle fake reviews are contained in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
• The existing Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will replace the data protection regime the UK inherited from the EU
• The Media Bill, published in draft form earlier this year, will scrap a never-enacted rule forcing media companies to pay the legal bills of people who sue them, even if they win

• A Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver plans for a phased ban on smoking, and introduce restrictions on the packaging and marketing of vapes
• A regulator for the top five tiers of English professional football will be established by the Football Governance Bill
• A Pedicabs (London) Bill will give Transport for London new powers to regulate pedal-powered taxi cabs in the capital

• An Arbitration Bill will introduce new rules for individuals and businesses to resolve disputes without going to court
• A Trade Bill will enable the UK to join the 11-nation CPTPP trade pact with several countries in Asia and the Pacific
• The Holocaust Memorial Bill will enable a Holocaust memorial to be built in Victoria Tower Gardens, near the Houses of Parliament
• Public bodies will be banned from boycotting Israel under the Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
• A Rail Reform Bill creating a new body to oversee the railway in Great Britain is included, but only in draft form

• No new bill to ban the import of hunting trophies, after a Tory MP’s bill to do so was timed out in the last parliamentary session
• A bill to introduce a ban on so-called conversion therapy to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity – promised since 2018
• A bill authorising the construction of the HS2 rail line between Crewe and Manchester dropped
• A draft bill to overhaul the treatment of people with learning disabilities and autism, mentioned in last year’s Queen’s Speech

— Reports /TrainViral/