The new British government announces better relations with the EU and reform of the House
Labour regained the parliamentary majority in the House of Commons with a landslide victory for the first time in 14 years at the general election in early July. The new government will strive to "rebuild relationships with European partners and improve trade and investment relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom", according to the speech read out by King Charles III during the Throne Speech.
Moreover, the abolition of the hereditary peer's right to a seat in the House of Lords is planned to modernize the British constitution. The British constitution does not have a codified form, that is, it is not formulated in a single document.
Accompanying the Throne Speech, the Labour government declared that the "continued presence" of Lords with hereditary seats in the House of Commons chamber is "outdated and not to be justified". The details of Labour's plans remained unclear.
The British House of Lords has approximately 800 members, with an average age of 71 years. Most members are appointed for life. Among them are former, mainly ex-Cabinet ministers from the House of Commons, as well as people appointed to public or private sector positions and Church of England clergy.
The legislative plans revive a reform agenda for the House of Lords that was initiated by the Labour government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the late 1990s. Blair's government intended to abolish all seats of the hundreds of hereditary members of the House of Lords. Only 92 of these seats remained, which was originally intended to be a temporary compromise. "Twenty-five years later, they are rather a matter of chance than intention as part of the status quo", the government stated in its announcement to abolish these seats further.
The Labour programme also includes provisions for all major budget decisions to be reviewed in an "independent assessment" by the Office for Budget Responsibility. This is intended to prevent a disaster like the mini-budget of the former Prime Minister Liz Truss in 2022, which plunged the British economy.
The Throne Speech, known in English as the "King's Speech", is a centuries-old tradition filled with pomp and ceremony, in which the legislative proposals of the government are presented for the coming twelve months. Despite its name, the speech is not written by the monarch as head of state, but by the government. It marks the official beginning of the new parliamentary session.
Charles III read the speech from a golden throne in the House of Lords, dressed in a Royal Navy uniform and a long robe. On his head, he wore the Imperial State Crown, which weighs over a kilogram and is adorned with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, pearls, and rubies.
- The new Labour government, following their victory in the Parliament election, has expressed the intent to reform the Upper House, specifically addressing the issue of hereditary peers in the House of Lords.
- Charles III, as the new monarch, delivered the Throne Speech, outlining the government's plans, which include rebuilding relationships with the European Union and improving trade and investment relations.
- Keir Starmer's government aims to modernize the British constitution by abolishing the hereditary peer's right to a seat in the Upper House, a reform first initiated by Tony Blair's Labour government in the late 1990s.
- The abolition of these hereditary seats in the House of Lords could potentially affected relationships with some of the former Cabinet ministers and Church of England clergy, who currently hold positions in the Upper House.
- The Government program, presented during the Throne speech, also includes measures to prevent economic disasters like the mini-budget of Liz Truss in 2022, by subjecting major budget decisions to an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
- As King Charles III begins his reign, his relationship with the newly elected Government and their ambitious reform agenda for the Upper House will be a significant factor in shaping the political landscape of the United Kingdom.
