Category: Speeches

  • Ed Davey – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Ed Davey – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2026.

    I start by giving my sincere thanks, on behalf of all Liberal Democrats, to His Majesty King Charles for his Gracious Speech. We still believe President Trump should not have been rewarded for insulting British soldiers and the Royal Navy, but His Majesty was superb on that state visit.

    I join others in paying tribute to the hon. Members for Bradford West (Naz Shah) and for Harlow (Chris Vince) for their accomplished speeches proposing and seconding the Loyal Address. Like me, the hon. Member for Bradford West worked in a factory. For her, it was crisps; for me, it was pork pies. If we throw in the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley), who worked in the soft drinks industry, together we are a meal deal. May I say that the hon. Lady is the real McCoy? She has already had an extraordinary life and career, talking from first-hand experience about how violence against women and homelessness touches millions of people. We are in her debt for that, and for her bravery and courage.

    I also congratulate the hon. Member for Harlow on his speech. I hear he recently ran the London marathon—the House might be shocked to know that I have more experience with crisps than with long-distance running. It is a great pleasure to work with him on young carers and young adult carers, something that we are both passionate about, and I thank him for his leadership as chair of the all-party parliamentary group. As has been mentioned, the hon. Gentleman was a maths teacher for many years, and no doubt had to deal with bad behaviour in the classroom, so he may want to advise the Prime Minister on whether the Health Secretary should be put in detention.

    There is a lot to cover in responding to this Humble Address, but I will start by directly addressing the atrocious acts of antisemitism that British Jews are experiencing at the moment, and the insecurity and fear that the community now feel. Week after week, British Jews are being attacked, intimidated and persecuted—Heaton Park synagogue, Kenton United synagogue, Finchley Reform synagogue, Jewish Futures in Hendon, Hatzola ambulances, and now the Golders Green stabbings. When I visited Western Marble Arch synagogue last week, members of the Jewish community questioned whether Britain is a safe place for them, or whether they must move abroad to be safe. No one should have to ask themselves that question in our country today—no one.

    The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, is right to call these appalling levels of antisemitism a “national security emergency”. He is also right to say that existing laws must be properly enforced. That is why I welcome the Government’s initiative to bring forward a policing Bill, and I urge them to ensure that police and prosecutors receive the right training and support to pursue antisemitic crimes much more effectively.

    That is why the Liberal Democrats have long called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in order to tackle the threat that these Iranian terrorists pose to British Jews. The legislation to proscribe the IRGC—finally confirmed today, I believe—must be a top and urgent priority.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    I welcome what the Prime Minister is doing in relation to the IRGC, but he will be aware that some 30,000 individuals who protested on the streets of Iran are in jail. Some of them are on death row, about to be executed for standing up for liberty and freedom. Does the right hon. Gentleman feel that the Government, and the Prime Minister in particular, should be taking action to try to get those people free? Now is the time to act.

    Ed Davey

    The hon. Gentleman is right to mention those in Iran who have been persecuted by the appalling Iranian regime. I am sure that the Foreign Secretary will have heard that and will make as many representations as possible, but I accept that it is not an easy matter, given the regime in Tehran.

    This is the 23rd Loyal Address that I have listened to in this House, and it is the most surreal by far. Everyone in this House and across the country knows that the Prime Minister may soon not be in power—not in place for his own programme and not able to deliver these promises. The votes on this King’s Speech ought to be interesting—a test of confidence in this Government and Prime Minister. The Liberal Democrats will be voting against it, but how many Members on the Government Benches will? By my reckoning, if every Labour MP who has called for the Prime Minister to go voted that way, the Government’s huge majority would be at risk. Let us see if they have the courage of their convictions.

    The Liberal Democrats will be voting against it not just because the Prime Minister is now one of the weakest in post-war history, but because this King’s Speech does not offer the change our country needs. It does not offer the change needed to fix the insecurity that people and businesses are increasingly fearful of. It does not offer change to do with rising prices. People know that inflation in food, energy and fuel is set to rocket, but people do not think the Prime Minister has their backs on the economy. The financial and economic insecurity stalking our country is hitting growth, investment and jobs. We were promised change and a Government with growth as their mission, yet rather than change, we have had continuity from the failures that came before.

    Faced with that calamity, what has the Prime Minister offered on growth? We have been offered an EU reset Bill that fails to reset. With a Prime Minister who knows a thing or two about failed resets, perhaps we should not be surprised. The Prime Minister’s refusal to remove his red lines on a new EU-UK customs union, to go further than his red lines on the single market and to deliver a new deep trading relationship with our European partners with a proper youth mobility scheme all mean that he is consigning our country to higher prices and lower growth and failing to address the economic insecurity plaguing our economy. Instead, we have been given taxes on jobs and the family farm tax.

    Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)

    Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

    Ed Davey

    Not at the moment.

    To be fair to the Government, some of our current economic problems stem from President Trump and his reckless war in Iran. Let us be absolutely clear: Trump’s war is stoking the cost of living crisis to new and alarming levels—fuel prices are up at the pump, food prices are set to go up even more, and people’s holidays are threatened. The Prime Minister’s biggest success was not taking us into Trump’s damaging war with Iran when the Conservatives and Reform were urging him to do so, yet because of the Government’s failure to build new and deeper economic alliances with Europe and the Commonwealth, as we have been urging them to do, this country is set to be hit far harder by the inflation caused by the situation in the strait of Hormuz.

    Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)

    We all recognise the impact that Trump’s war is going to have on our economy. The right hon. Gentleman offers membership of the single market and the customs union as a solution to that, but prices in Edinburgh South West are going up right now. How long, in his estimation, would it take to access the single market and become a member of the customs union?

    Ed Davey

    The hon. Gentleman has obviously not noticed that we are the only party who have put forward a costed package to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps—something that could be done immediately. I think he should pay more attention.

    Trumpflation is predicted to be worse here because of the failures of this Government, and indeed the last. Cosying up to this White House was never going to work, and it has not. I suspect that history will show that the Prime Minister’s approach to President Trump was one of his worst mistakes.

    The sad truth is that President Trump is one of the reasons why so many people in our country feel insecure, anxious and fearful about the future. From trade tariffs to the weakening of NATO, President Trump has broken all the certainties British people and businesses used to rely on, yet this Government have been far too slow to realise that and to respond to this new reality. The Conservatives and Reform may not have woken up, but there is no excuse for the Government. It has therefore been left to us. The country can know that my party will champion the new and changing international alliances that are so vital for the British economy and the defence of the United Kingdom.

    Let me try to find an area of agreement. I do welcome the Government’s decision to bring forward an energy independence Bill, although we will scrutinise it line by line and advance our more ambitious ideas. I have long felt that energy independence should be a long-term goal for our country and our allies; even before Trump’s war in Iran, people and businesses were being hit because of our dependence on others for fuel. Energy bills for households are still around a third higher than before Putin’s war in Ukraine. When fossil fuel dictators like Vladimir Putin can hit the pockets of every family and pensioner in our country and tyrannical regimes like Tehran’s can hold our country and the world to ransom, surely it is time to wake up.

    Oil and gas prices have a long history of spiking and hurting our economy. Even when North sea oil and gas production was at its height—now almost 30 years ago—the UK could still be hit because we have always been price takers. While I have always been pragmatic about our North sea oil industry for our economy—not least in Scotland—it is simply fantasy and fabrication for some in this House to pretend that there is a solution in the North sea to high energy prices.

    The best way to cut energy bills is to invest in home-grown renewable power. We will therefore push the Government to go further in the energy independence Bill, just as we did on solar power early in this Parliament with the sunshine Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson)—now reflected in law.

    The Prime Minister, or whoever replaces him, must take up our plan to protect people from Trumpflation on fuel bills and cut fuel duty, rail fares and bus prices to protect British families and businesses right now.

    The Liberal Democrat agenda of greater security for families and businesses begins with greater economic, financial and energy security, but it is also built on greater security for our country. The Government must do far more to bolster our nation’s defences. With Vladimir Putin waging war in Europe and the need to redouble our efforts to support our brave Ukrainian allies to beat Russia, with a wildly unpredictable President sitting in the White House, leading a dangerous and idiotic war in the middle east and undermining NATO at every turn, and with a world order challenged by the rise of China, the case for an urgent and significant rise in defence spending is clearly a strong one.

    It is even stronger when one looks at the state of our defence readiness. The Conservatives failed on the No. 1 task of any Government: to defend our country and back our armed forces. They left our Army at its lowest size since the Napoleonic war, and they left our Navy at its lowest size since the English civil war. Yet this Labour Government have moved at a snail’s pace, failing month after month to publish their own defence investment plan. In contrast, we have called for the immediate launch of defence bonds to raise £20 billion over two years, building on successful models used by Poland, and for a commitment to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 at the latest. We have argued for a new European rearmament bank so that our defence industries will lead the next generation of defence technologies.

    If the history of the last century taught us anything, and if the experience of President Trump has taught us anything, it is essential and urgent that we work with our European and Commonwealth allies to secure and defend our country, our values and our way of life.

    Central to our British way of life is the NHS, to which I now turn. It is important I do so, because I am likely to be the only Opposition party leader to stand up for healthcare in this debate, as the Conservatives are so embarrassed by their record and Reform’s leader has spent decades saying that he wants to get rid of the NHS entirely. The Government would have us believe that they have turned the NHS around after the mess left by the last Government, but when he is not plotting his next leadership bid against the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State would have Labour Back Benchers believe that he is fixing the NHS. If only.

    Now we are told that the Health Secretary is planning to resign tomorrow. This resignation is taking so long that it would give NHS waiting lists a run for their money. Anyone who visits their local hospital knows that the NHS remains in a critical state. Thousands of people are still being treated in hospital corridors every day. We are now even seeing job adverts for people to provide care in corridors.

    Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)

    It would be interesting to be reminded of how the right hon. Member voted on Andrew Lansley’s reforms of the NHS, many of which are still creating problems in our NHS today.

    Ed Davey

    The hon. Gentleman ought to know that although there was a long time when the Conservatives were messing up our NHS, Labour has had two years and has absolutely failed.

    Let us turn to Labour’s promises to turn around primary care with more GPs, NHS dentists and community pharmacists. Some areas of the country have been going backwards since this Government came to power. When it comes to people feeling more secure in their lives and their futures, quality healthcare is central. I will not list off our policies for fixing the NHS, except one: care—social care and family care. Not for the first time, I must declare an interest.

    I focus on care because it is the central, radical and transformational change that has to happen if we are to fix our NHS. Two years ago in the debate on the last Loyal Address I raised care with the Prime Minister as the big challenge that the Government had to tackle to rescue the NHS. I welcomed promises back then for cross-party working, but what has happened? Almost nothing. True, the excellent Baroness Casey has been dispatched around the country, on a timetable written in the Treasury, but her report will land just before the election so, once again, nothing will happen for care in this Parliament. That is a betrayal of the elderly and disabled who need better care, of their families and of the NHS. We will not let up in the fight to fix social care and to back people caring for their loved ones at home. We will put forward the changes that our country needs for people to feel less insecure when they face old age and illness.

    Another aspect of our national life where insecurity has got worse and worse is farming and food. British farmers are world renowned. They are the key to ensuring that everyone has high-quality and affordable food on their plates. Yet they have been let down and forgotten time and again. They were let down by the Conservatives, who undermined our food security with bad trade deals and botched funding. The Conservative Government left England as the only country in Europe where farmers are not supported to produce food.

    But somehow the Labour Government have managed to make things worse for farmers, not least with their terrible mess over the family farm tax. That is why we called for the inclusion of a good food Bill in the King’s Speech, to prioritise food security and back British farmers to produce British food. With Trump’s idiotic war in Iran hitting farmers with everything from higher fertiliser costs to higher prices for red diesel, the need for our good food Bill could not be more urgent. If that is coupled with our plans for a much closer trading relationship with Europe, there is a pathway to greater food security and lower food prices, and the Government must seize it.

    There are many ways in which our party believes the Government should tackle the insecurity that people across the country feel right now: from quicker, tougher action on the damage being done by social media to our young people and people’s mental health, to backing the case for more community police officers to keep our communities safer, and having a fair asylum and immigration policy that is genuinely effective against irregular immigration but welcomes people who play by the rules and contribute to our great country; and from tackling the continuing scandals in our water industry to building the affordable and social housing that so many families and young people desperately need, and ensuring that children and families are at the heart of reforms to special educational needs.

    My right hon. and hon. Friends will set out our approach on all those issues over the course of the debate, but I will end by addressing the threat to our country from another source: populist politicians and extremist parties that sow division, play the blame game and make wild promises, and that are a threat to our very democracy. They are exploiting our broken political system, which both the Conservatives and Labour have failed to fix.

    The first-past-the-post electoral system of “winner takes all” was supposed to bring stability. It was supposed to provide majority Governments who could take the tough long-term decisions necessary to deliver for our country on the economy, the NHS and defence. We see how badly it has failed. We have majority Governments, yes, but with six Prime Ministers in a decade—soon, probably seven—we hardly have stability, when so many people now ask, “Is Britain governable?”

    The concentration of power undermines so much and leads to the scandals that undermine the standing of our democracy even more: a twice-sacked Member of the House of Lords is handed our most prestigious ambassador post, despite the Prime Minister knowing his links to a convicted paedophile and sex trafficker; a Conservative Prime Minister consistently broke the rules that he himself set for the rest of us during one of our nation’s most severe crises; and a leader of a political party thinks a £5 million gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire does not reek of corruption

    The threat is clear. Under our electoral system, a Reform party that takes its orders from its American boss at Mar-a-Lago could win a majority on less than a third of the popular vote. We must fix our broken political system before it is too late, but the King’s Speech is not up to that historic, vital task. We need a new Magna Carta to enshrine the rights of citizens and protect us from the populist extremists now threatening our country.

    Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)

    The results in the Bradford district were some of the least representative, with Reform taking a majority of seats despite getting only 23% of the popular vote there. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, while Reform made gains in seats, it is not what the majority of people in this country support?

    Ed Davey

    I certainly hear the figures from Bradford; the hon. Lady makes the same case that our party makes for electoral reform of both local and national government. In the constituencies of my hon. Friends the Members for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) and for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney), the Liberal Democrats now have every single councillor, but we do not have every single vote, and we would welcome electoral reform in those councils where we are over-represented. I hope the hon. Lady’s Government listen to the voices of Members on these Benches.

    It is clear the country wants change—and, given the battering that the two old parties received at the recent elections, it is clear they are not offering it. Worryingly, many people are looking to the extremes on the left and the right, thinking that if we burn the system down, things will improve. Yet I do not believe the British people want Trump’s divisive, unfair America here, even though that is Reform’s offer of change. I also do not believe the British people want a reheated Corbynista agenda put forward by a Green party that no longer offers serious action to protect our nature and our climate.

    It falls to the Liberal Democrats, then—the only non-populist, non-extremist party left standing—to offer the real change that people crave. Our change is about building things up, not burning them down. Our change is about bringing people, communities and our country together, not dividing and blaming people. From Europe to social care, from energy to defence, from political reform to our environment, I am proud to lead a party that is preparing for government so that our country can be changed for the better.

  • Keir Starmer – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Keir Starmer – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2026.

    Mr Speaker, may I say what a pleasure it is to welcome the Gracious Speech of His Majesty, and the radical agenda of this Labour Government that will tear down the status quo that has failed working people and build a stronger, fairer Britain?

    In the light of the abhorrent attacks in Golders Green two weeks ago, let me start by briefly addressing that directly. It was the latest in a series of appalling antisemitic attacks; a normalisation of hatred that leads terrorists with warped Islamist ideologies to attack people they have never even met, simply because they are Jewish; a hatred that leads some to march calling for the murder of British Jews, and not to think that there might be something wrong about that.

    I have fought that hatred in my own political party, and I have sat with others as they describe what it means for them—the fear, the sense that maybe they should not wear something or do something that might reveal their Jewish identity, just in case. It is time for the silent majority in this country to speak up, to stand with British Jews and to defeat this hatred once and for all, just as we will take on any form of hatred, from left or right, that seeks to divide us. In the words of the Gracious Speech, we will

    “defend the British values of decency, tolerance and respect for difference under our common flag”.

    That is also why, when far-right agitators try to come here this Saturday to spread their poison of hatred, this Labour Government will block them, this time and every time.

    The Humble Address was brilliantly proposed by my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah). Members across the House will have read her remarkable new book, and her list of endorsements is truly impressive, reaching well over 100 Members—at last, a list that we can all get behind. [Laughter.] It is not the first time that she has shown her ability to bring people together. She united her city and many in this House when she sent George Galloway packing.

    The House will know that my hon. Friend is passionate about the measures that this Government are taking to lift half a million children out of poverty, as we all are on this side of the House—it is the pride of these Benches—but the House might not know about her remarkable effort to get Marcus Rashford to champion free school meals and speak to pupils in her constituency. Most of us would have attempted this via the complex world of agents and managers, but my hon. Friend had a different idea. She spoke, as you do, to the sister of Cristiano Ronaldo. I can imagine that the Ronaldo household is used to fielding some pretty big offers—multimillion-pound transfers, billions in brand sponsorships, Piers Morgan calling for the eighth time that day—but I cannot imagine the confusion in the Ronaldo family when they heard my hon. Friend say not, “Is Cristiano Ronaldo available?”, but, “Can you give me the number of Marcus Rashford? I want to invite him to a primary school in Allerton to have some porridge in our free breakfast club.”

    On a much more serious note, I know that the whole House will join me in paying tribute to my hon. Friend’s extraordinary courage, together with her mother, brother and sister. Their story is utterly harrowing, and their strength to survive and deep-rooted determination to fight for change are an inspiration for all of us, and the very best of who we are. My hon. Friend brings a lived experience to our politics—an empathy, a compassion, a humanity, and an understanding of how easy it is to slip from a stable and secure life into one gripped by terrible deprivation.

    As my hon. Friend writes in her book:

    “Behind every word we utter must lie the foundation of real human experience”.

    In that spirit, I am sure she will welcome the measures in this King’s Speech, which will deliver change grounded in that lived experience and the work of the tireless campaigners who have fought for justice, whether that is remediation for those living in homes with unsafe cladding, banning abusive conversion practices, our mission to halve violence against women and girls, or the Hillsborough law, which will bring justice for all. As she says so powerfully,

    “equality, fairness and justice must belong to all of us.”

    That is the driving purpose of our party, and her speech was in the finest traditions of this House.

    The Humble Address was also brilliantly seconded by my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince). We are all proud to represent our constituencies, but few of us so relentlessly name our constituency as those who represent Harlow. Members from previous Parliaments will remember my hon. Friend’s predecessor, Robert Halfon, who seemed to get Harlow into pretty well all of his contributions. Well, my hon. Friend will not be outdone. He has inherited the great Harlow shoehorn, and he is already recognised across this House as a one-man tourist board. I have to thank the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty), who is caught in Hansard referring to my hon. Friend as the “Trade envoy to Harlow”—a rare example of a good idea from the Opposition.

    No matter the debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow will find the local connection, whether it is championing the role of Harlow college in dealing with climate change, praising the invention of fibre-optic cables in Harlow, or telling us how Harlow doubled for Paris during an episode of “The Crown”. I remember clearly my hon. Friend saying to me that wherever he goes in the world, he is always thinking about Harlow, and he is quite right.

    I congratulate my hon. Friend on his amazing fundraising at this year’s London marathon, as has been mentioned.

    I understand his disappointment at being overtaken by the right hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden). All I can say is that there is no shame in losing to someone whose training was so extensive that it involved running all the way from North West Durham to Billericay.

    It is perhaps no surprise that, as a secondary school maths teacher for 15 years, my hon. Friend has an eye for detail, boundless energy and an ability to handle those on these Benches who are occasionally unruly, but he also has a real passion for young people, a deep and personal understanding of the invaluable role that young carers play, and total conviction in the power of education to change our country, so I know he will welcome the education Bill in the Gracious Speech. When the next series of “Educating Essex” is made, he will rightly be the star, and I thank him for yet another fantastic speech today.

    Let me also thank the Leader of the Opposition for the usual warm and generous nature of her contribution. In difficult days, her input is always a ray of sunshine. I particularly like getting tips from her on how to win friends. This is from the party that had previously called us “orcs and goons”; I am a Gooner, so, as usual, she is less than half right. However, we do have one thing in common: both our parties had tough results in the local elections last week. The difference is that she has not noticed. There is another difference: we are in government, and they are no longer even the Opposition.

    This King’s Speech is a strike against the status quo, which has failed working people. It is a King’s Speech for the young people whose gifts lie in their hands, and who work hard, want their talents to be recognised, and just want an opportunity in their community. It is a King’s Speech for the children who, under the Conservative party, had to go to school without breakfast, hungry, cold and tired, when they should be focused on their learning. It is a King’s Speech for the backbone of this country; for working people who worry about the cost of living and want their town centre to thrive, their public services to work, and their Government to be on their side—and we are, because at the heart of this programme is a plan to make Britain stronger and fairer.

    Right now, across the country, people turn on their television and see bombs falling; they go to the petrol station and see prices rising; and they are worried sick about the consequences. We cannot stand here in the House and pretend that this is new. Britain has been buffeted by crises for decades now—the 2008 financial crash, the austerity that followed it, Brexit, covid, and the war that still rages in Ukraine—and the response? Their response is always the same: a desperate attempt to get back to a status quo that failed working people, decimated their public services, and made them pay the price. Our response this time must and will be different—a complete break. We will not simply slump back to the old ways. This King’s Speech gives us the strength we need—the economic security, energy security and national security to control our future in a chaotic world. It is an agenda of radical reform across our major public services. This is an urgent, activist Labour Government who tilt power back to workers, renters and the less fortunate, and give a voice to the working class and to all those whom the status quo has repeatedly ignored and dismissed. We are in favour of a Britain where everyone, whatever their background, can go as far as their talent and effort take them, and where people have a pride in where they live and hope in what lies ahead. That is the change of a Labour Government, and this King’s Speech delivers it.

    We will deliver on economic security, and let me be clear: as the conflict in Iran unfolds, we are in a better position because of the action that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor took last year—getting inflation down, borrowing down and mortgage costs down. That is why we have been able to cap energy bills, raise the living wage, strengthen workers’ rights and end the shameful two-child benefit limit, lifting half a million children out of poverty.

    Faced with challenges, we do not retreat from our Labour values; we use them as our compass—strength through fairness. We will keep supporting those who need it most, including by creating a new national programme to redistribute surplus food, so that no one in this country needs to go hungry because of the conflict overseas. We also need to strengthen our sovereign capabilities, because the days when this country turned its back on our critical industries are over. We have seen that with British Steel, and we will see it with new legislation to clean up our waterways. A failure in the water industry has been going on for decades. It is a disgrace, and this Labour Government will tackle it.

    We will take that moral urgency to every part of our nation, with Bills to increase the pace of change in our NHS, in law enforcement, in controlling our borders and more. While immigration is down, we need to do more. While violent crime is down, it needs to be lower. While NHS waiting lists are down, we must go further, rewiring the state so that the working people of this country feel that it serves their interests. We will also build in this country sovereign power in the industries of the future, which will give us greater control in a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence. We will tear down the barriers to growth on planning, on faster infrastructure development and on business regulation, helping our great businesses, large and small.

    We will, as a defining act of this Government, rebuild our relationship with Europe, putting Britain back at the heart of a stronger Europe. That is good for growth, and it will reduce the cost of living and strengthen our security. There is no good reason to oppose it, so for our economic security, and for our Labour values, this Government will act.

    Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)

    Prime Minister, in my part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, we have been subjected for some years to the humiliation of being governed by laws that we do not make and cannot change. Yet you, Prime Minister, now seem to want to impose that same denial of democracy on the whole United Kingdom by making us a subservient rule-taker from a foreign Parliament. How is that in the interests of democracy?

    Mr Speaker

    Order. The hon. and learned Gentleman has been here long enough to not blame me for the problem. He should not say “you”.

    The Prime Minister

    I thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for his intervention. I am very well aware of the tensions in Northern Ireland, and the issues that have to be dealt with in our relations with the EU, but we have to face the fact that promises were made about Brexit that were not true, and which have not borne fruit. It is in our economic interests, our national interests and our defence interests to be closer to Europe. Of course we will navigate carefully, taking on board the issues in Northern Ireland, as he would expect, but it is in our interest to be closer to the EU. That is what we are doing, and we will go further.

    This moment demands even greater radicalism on energy security. The British people should not have to pay more in their bills, and their living standards should not be hit, because of a war that they did not vote for and that Britain is not involved in, which is happening thousands of miles away. That is a fundamental argument of this Government, and the Conservatives have no answer to it. For decades they ducked the long-term decisions to make our country, our energy and our economy stronger, so we are going to take control. We are going to declare Britain’s energy independence. That does not mean, and it will not mean, that we turn off the taps in the North sea—oil and gas will be part of the mix for decades—but we have to move so much faster on clean energy, with a whole-society effort and everyone playing their part as we take control of our energy security.

    Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)

    I am very grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way. He talks about energy security; he should know that Scotland has an energy surplus—we generate more electricity than we use—and that, in conditions of surplus, prices go down. However, in Scotland, because we are stuck in the GB energy market, we pay for the scarcity of energy in England—not just to the point of equality, but to our detriment, so that there are higher prices for energy in Scotland. Can he explain why that dysfunction exists, and what is in this King’s Speech to fix it?

    The Prime Minister

    What is in this King’s Speech to fix that is moving faster to our energy independence. That is the way that we get off the international markets. That is the way that we take control and reduce bills for people across the country.

    We will, of course, also strengthen our country’s defence security. That starts with the fundamentals, and a recognition that it is not in the interests of this country to rush into a war without any thought of the consequences. That is my position, and that has always been my position, regardless of the pressure—a test of judgment that some in this House have failed. It continues with our commitment to NATO, the most successful defensive alliance in history, and a proud achievement of this party that others would throw away.

    Today, faced with even greater threats, we need to strengthen NATO, we need to invest in our defence capabilities, and we need to strengthen the European element of NATO, because this nation is stronger when it stands with others, not just in word, but in deed. We are prepared to lead from the front; to bring nations together in this moment of danger; to support Ukraine, including through the coalition of the willing; and to act with our allies to reassure shipping in the strait of Hormuz. We are not content merely to manage the fallout from the Iran crisis; instead, we are building an international effort to solve it and end the economic harm.

    Of course, standing up for the defence and security of the United Kingdom depends on one thing above all else: ending 14 years of Tory defence austerity with the biggest sustained investment since the cold war. We will go further with the measures outlined in the King’s Speech and our upcoming defence investment plan. We will develop the capabilities that our nation needs. We will also deepen our partnerships to fire up our industries and make sure that British skill, British pride and British resolve are converted into British jobs in a stronger, fairer Britain.

    Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)

    The Prime Minister has used a lot of words about the defence investment plan. I think it was due in the autumn of last year, so when is he going to sign it?

    The Prime Minister

    I will take no lectures from the Conservatives. They hollowed out defence spend. Defence spend was 2.5% when they came into power, and 2.3% when they left power. The investment plan is being finalised and will be published soon. However, strength is the foundation, and that is the way we maintain our control, even in the storms of this world.

    David Davis (Goole and Pocklington) (Con)

    The Prime Minister quite rightly prioritises the defence of the country. We have depended for decades on the courage, honour and loyalty of our soldiers. However, some of our best units are now losing soldiers, because this Government are undermining them and allowing them, under the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, to be prosecuted and persecuted for alleged crimes—that were not carried out—from decades ago.

    The Prime Minister

    The right hon. Member knows very well that the provisions for Northern Ireland are intended to strike the right balance between what needs to be done and protecting our veterans. We are, of course, proud of all those who have served and do serve our country, but the legislation put forward by the last Government was struck down, leaving no protection whatsoever.

    Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)

    On that point, will the Prime Minister give way?

    The Prime Minister

    I will make some progress. The way we change our country—[Interruption.]

    Mr Francois

    The Prime Minister will know that in the recent Supreme Court Dillon judgment the Court ruled that the Conservatives’ Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 overwhelmingly was not incompatible with the Human Rights Act—he knows that. He referenced the awful events in Golders Green, rightfully, and he defended the police officers against attacks and the leader of the Green party, rightfully, and said that they had to take split-second decisions. If Northern Ireland veterans had to take split-second decisions to uphold the rule of law in Northern Ireland, what is the difference?

    The Prime Minister

    I have been in control rooms in Northern Ireland, watching decisions being taken on the use of fatal force. I am well aware of the nature of the decisions that have to be taken, the circumstances in which they are taken and how difficult those decisions are. That is not the same as the issues in the Bill, and the right hon. Gentleman knows it.

    Strength is the foundation: it is the way we maintain our control even in the storms of this world, and the way we change our country rather than just manage the crisis. More than anything, change means a Britain where every child can go as far as their talent or effort allows. It is a beautiful idea, one that I know is shared across the House, but as representatives we need to see the country as a whole to make sure we see every child, including the children growing up in poverty, the children who have special educational needs, the young people who cannot get a job, and the people who are ignored and excluded from our highest aspirations because they do not want to go to university. This is a King’s Speech to change that once and for all.

    My late brother had difficulties learning, and he had to fight every day just to be seen. There are millions of people like him: people who are ignored by a system and a status quo that has no expectations for them. This King’s Speech will make sure that no child is left behind, because everyone has something to contribute to the success of this nation. Every child must succeed if we are to build a stronger, fairer Britain. That is how we tear down the status quo preserved by the Conservative party—a status quo that failed working people, a status quo that left Britain’s economy exposed, a status quo that made our country weak.

    There are some in this country—some even in this House—who would feed the frustration with that status quo into a politics of grievance and division. This King’s Speech sets a different course, a more hopeful course, and a course that sees the conflict in Iran, a war on two fronts, not as something to wring our hands about, but as an opportunity we must take to shape our country’s future, to end the status quo that has failed working people, and to build a stronger, fairer Britain. That is what this King’s Speech delivers and I commend it to the House.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Kemi Badenoch – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2026.

    This King’s Speech is taking place against the most extraordinary backdrop. We knew that the carriages were booked, that the horses were ready and that the King was coming, but would we have a Prime Minister? It is such an honour to be the Leader of the Opposition who gets to respond today. May I start by congratulating the proposer and seconder of the Loyal Address on their excellent speeches? I also congratulate the Whips on finding two Back Benchers prepared to support the Prime Minister at this time.

    The hon. Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) gave a moving and funny speech. I especially appreciated her comments about black and brown faces on TV—or, as my children say, “Oh look, it’s mummy again.” She only touched lightly on the fact that she is someone who has faced one of the most challenging childhoods imaginable, yet through the strength of her character, has made it to this place. She is made of tough stuff, and that is something we need more of in this House. Anyone who can boast of chewing up and spitting out George Galloway in an election is clearly formidable.

    I also congratulate the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) on successfully delivering a humorous and warm-hearted speech. As he noted, he is my constituency neighbour. He ran the London marathon last month, raising money for the St Clare hospice, which cares for his constituents and mine, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for doing that. I have become a big fan of his after listening to his speech, especially as he was so generous in his comments about the Harlow Conservatives’ successful election campaign and my councillors’ outstanding work on regenerating the town centre. If things on his side of the House are getting a bit much, he would be very welcome to cross the Floor and help the Conservatives carry on that work.

    I think we can say that the proposer and seconder of the Loyal Address have upheld the best traditions of the House.

    I would of course like to pay tribute to His Majesty the King. His Majesty has served through a period of great personal difficulty, and throughout it he has exemplified the virtues of grace, dignity, humour, modesty and resolve in the face of adversity—virtues that were on full display during his hugely successful state visit to the United States. I am sure the whole House will have admired his skilful speech to Congress. It was a speech full of the wisdom and courage needed for our times. Of course, we would never have got to hear it if we had listened to some people in this House who called for the King’s visit to be cancelled—thank goodness no one listens to the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

    As for the Prime Minister, when he was young, he called for the end of the monarchy, so I am glad that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has seen the error of his ways, because previous King Charleses took a much dimmer view of that kind of thing. I am only sorry that this new-found appreciation of the monarchy and our country’s traditions has come too late, because this is the first parliamentary Session ever without the hereditary peers. Their departure will be keenly felt and our Parliament will be poorer for it, especially when we consider some of the people Labour has been replacing them with—people who have already had the Whip removed before they have even taken their seats.

    Mr Speaker, I know that the convention is for this to be a light-hearted debate, but as I have already said, this is a highly unusual moment. The Prime Minister is in office but not in power. Everyone is trying to pretend it is all right—it is not all right. In the past 48 hours, nearly 100 Labour MPs have called for the Prime Minister to resign. Four Ministers have quit. It is clear that his authority has gone and that he will not be able to deliver what little there is in this King’s Speech. This is a Government less than two years in office who have already run out of ideas and run out of road.

    So how did we get here? There is a great line in the musical “Hamilton”: “Winning is easy, governing is harder”. Everything that has gone wrong in Labour’s first two years comes back to one problem: it came into office with no plan. It did not understand the difference between winning an election and governing a country. It was very easy to make promises in opposition—promises to freeze council tax, promises to take £300 off energy bills, promises to the WASPI women. Hundreds of Labour MPs took photos with them to post on their Facebook pages, websites and election leaflets, but at no point did they bother to think how they would deliver any of it.

    Labour did not spend its time in opposition thinking deeply about the country’s problems. It assumed that governing in the 2020s would be like governing in the 1990s, but it is not. Britain is facing new structural problems. We have an ageing—[Interruption.] Labour Members all shout at me; I know they cannot wait to get back to their plotting, but it is quite important that we hear what is being said. We have an ageing population, a falling birth rate and a welfare bill that is spiralling out of control. We have an information revolution in the shape of AI that threatens to unravel the world of work as we know it, and the cost of energy is driving industry out of the country.

    Labour was taken by surprise that we are living in a more competitive and increasingly hostile world. Its manifesto was just a set of misleading promises. It promised no new taxes on working people—fail. It promised to crack down on illegal immigration—fail. It promised to tread more lightly on people’s lives—epic fail. It made promises without knowing how anything works.

    Let us look at housing. Just after Labour took office, when I was shadow Housing Secretary, I stood at this Dispatch Box and warned the former Deputy Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), that she had been stitched up and that the 1.5 million new homes Labour promised had been hung like a millstone around her neck. I knew the Government would not be able to meet that target, because they did not understand why more houses were not being built. Sure enough, they are already more than a third down on their target, and well behind what we delivered. Of course, in the end it was not 1.5 million homes that did for the former Deputy Prime Minister; it took just one flat in Brighton to bring her down.

    It is so obvious—[Interruption.] I know Labour Members don’t want to hear it. Look at them—they are so arrogant that they want to lead our country, but they cannot even lead a coup. It is so obvious that they cannot handle being in government. They hate the responsibility, and they hate having to take tough decisions. They prefer scratching the itches that they had in opposition: giving inflation-busting pay rises to the unions, with 28% for the doctors who, after nearly two years, are still striking, and handing out more benefits to the only people who will still vote for them, because Labour Members do not understand that poverty is created not by a lack of benefits but by a failing economy.

    We spent the last Session listening to Labour MPs telling us how great everything was going, and no doubt we will hear lots of grandstanding speeches this week, telling us what a fantastic job they did. How absurd, given the number of them demanding that the Prime Minister stands down. We counted, Mr Speaker, and there were 24 U-turns in that first parliamentary Session: winter fuel, family farms, grooming gangs, welfare reform, social media for under-16s, day one workers’ rights—the list goes on and on. Every single one of those U-turns had at its core a single issue: the Prime Minister’s total lack of judgment. This is a man who, faced with a crisis of vision, charisma and electoral success, sent for Gordon Brown.

    Leadership is about having a vision for this country, and the courage to take difficult decisions, persuading your party that those difficult decisions will pay off in time, and taking responsibility for your mistakes. The Prime Minister has failed on every count. We have had pillars, promises, four-point plans, five-point plans, missions, with none of it achieving anything—reset after reset after reset. Even if the Prime Minister lasts long enough in office for this Loyal Address to be delivered, the Bills announced today do not remotely come close to what the country needs—[Interruption.] Labour Members are chuntering, Mr Speaker, but not a single one of them dares to intervene on me.

    I welcome the Government’s ongoing support for Ukraine and their commitment to NATO. In this increasingly dangerous world, it is more important than ever that we stand with our allies in the fight against tyranny. I also commend the Government for their commitment to speed up the delivery of infrastructure such as new nuclear. Too many Governments have been frustrated in their attempts to deliver nuclear projects quickly, and we will support efforts to make the process simpler, faster and cheaper.

    I also want to be generous to the Home Secretary, because I see that she is trying to do something about illegal immigration. The elephant in the room is that she almost certainly will not be Home Secretary for much longer, and sadly, no one else in the Labour party looks remotely interested in bringing down illegal immigration. The rest of the offerings in the King’s Speech make it clear that Labour Members have learned no lessons from their mistakes in government so far. All we have is a load of reannounced policies: hounding our brave veterans through the courts; legislating for digital ID—a policy they told us they had dropped; and banning trail hunting, which is just more class war that makes no one’s life better. Scrapping NHS England is something the Prime Minister announced 14 months ago—but I suppose the Health Secretary has been a bit distracted lately, hasn’t he? [Interruption.] He’s chuntering now. Why don’t you just do your job? There is no point in him giving me dirty looks; we all know what he has been up to.

    Even worse is what is not in the Gracious Speech. There is no defence readiness Bill, because apparently it is not ready. Where are the plans for welfare reform? There are none, because Labour MPs have blocked them. Where is the plan to make savings? There isn’t one, because Labour Members do not know how to make savings; they only know how to spend money—other people’s money. Where is the plan to support businesses? There isn’t one, because they do not understand that it is business that creates growth, not Government. They have no answers on what really matters: the problems that must be solved to get Britain working again.

    I do feel very sorry for Labour Back Benchers. [Interruption.] It’s true—I do feel sorry for Labour Back Benchers. They arrived here not that long ago with such high hopes. Some of them, in fact, were so talented that they were made Ministers before ever speaking a word in Parliament. So talented! Although one of them has just resigned; I must not forget that. We have watched their growing horror, day after day and week after week, as this hope descended into total chaos; the dread as they are sent out yet again to defend the indefensible; the injustice of feeling like pariahs in their own constituencies—banned from pubs and banned from hairdressers, which is presumably why all the women on the Government Front Bench have the same hairstyle. We have seen the realisation that their legacy is just going to be—[Interruption.] They can complain as much as they like. I was not expecting this to be comfortable for them. They are the ones who are trying to unseat their Prime Minister; they should face that. We have seen the realisation that their legacy is just going to be breakfast clubs and Peter Mandelson.

    Labour MPs have been treated as disposable by their leadership: sacked for backing the two-child benefit cap, sacked for opposing welfare changes, sacked for supporting farmers. The Prime Minister then U-turned on all of them. It must be tough when you take a principled stand and have the Whip removed, only for the Government to confirm six months later that they agreed with you all along. It is no wonder that nearly 100 Labour MPs have now called for the Prime Minister to go. I know that there are another 100 who claim to be supporting him, although some of them did not even know that their name was on that list. When you can only get a quarter of your MPs to publicly back you, the game is up, so the starting gun for the Labour leadership contest has been fired.

    Let’s have a look at the runners and riders. We have the former Deputy Prime Minister—she is not here—who has giving up vaping but still has not paid her taxes. We have the Health Secretary, who accidentally sent his takeover plans to No. 10—almost as incompetent as leaving them on the photocopier. And we have the Mayor of Manchester, a self-proclaimed winner who has twice failed to win the Labour leadership, including against the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn). As one Labour MP said about all the candidates in this race, and I quote:

    “We have to face up to the fact that every single one of them is”—

    I apologise, Mr Speaker—

    “f****** useless.”

    I do feel sorry for the poor Labour MPs who will now be subjected to months of peacocking by leadership candidates while the country is not being governed. I have some advice for whichever of them eventually takes over. Getting to No. 10 is not an award for being in a game show. This is not “Strictly Come Dancing” and, despite appearances, it is not “The Traitors” either. If you are a Housing Secretary who cannot work out her housing taxes, if you are a Health Secretary who can only cut waiting lists by deleting names from them, if you are Gordon Brown’s former Chief Secretary to the Treasury and you think the bond markets are a hoax, I can assure you that being Prime Minister is going to be a lot tougher.

    Too many have failed because they thought that winning an election or a leadership contest was the success, but it is not. The work does not end when you get the job; that is when it starts.

    It is absolutely preposterous that the Government are here laying out a programme as their Ministers are resigning and a large proportion of the Labour party is saying that the Prime Minister needs to go. The whole thing is totally illogical. Either Labour MPs agree with this agenda—in which case, why are they trying to get rid of the Prime Minister? Or they do not agree with this agenda—in which case, what on earth are we all doing here?

    It is time to be brutally honest. The country is angry with the entire political class—all of us here. They are not happy with how we have been doing politics. It is time to get serious.

    Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)

    The right hon. Lady seeks to lecture us on why everyone is so fed up with the political class, but she is using this opportunity not to lay out what the Conservatives would do, but to insult everyone on the Labour Benches. Surely that is not the way to proceed.

    Mrs Badenoch 

    Oh, I am not done yet; there is plenty more to come.

    The right hon. Lady says that she is getting a lecture, and she is. We are all getting a lecture, because we are legislators of the United Kingdom. We were sent here to fix difficult things, not to focus on our personal hobby horses, ranging from the petty to the puerile.

    Labour Members do not need to be scared of the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage)—I am not. He is not the cause of Britain’s problems—[Hon. Members: “You are!”] Labour Members are still delusional. I am sorry to puncture the bubble, but I am not here to pretend that what is happening is not happening. They can all pretend and live in la-la land, but I am going to speak the truth to them. The hon. Member for Clacton is not the cause of Britain’s problems; he is a symptom of the failure of the political class to focus on what matters. If you fix the problems that people care about, he goes away.

    Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)

    The right hon. Lady says that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) is a symptom of the problem, but does she agree that she and he have something in common? She very loosely agreed that we should race with America into war in Iran, then just a week later she thought, “Maybe that’s not such a good idea.” Does that not prove why she and he are totally unsuitable for speaking from the Government side of the House?

    Mrs Badenoch 

    That was a nice try, but it is not going to work.

    You cannot solve the problems of the country unless you have a plan to fix the civil service, the regulators, the legislative straitjacket and the powers transferred from Parliament to the courts. Unless you fix the structures of Government, everyone will continue to fail. Britain is not ungovernable and it is not broken.

    The right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) asked what the plan was. We have published an alternative King’s Speech, and the reason is that we need to take tough decisions to get the country out of the mess we are in by cutting wasteful spending, funding defence, securing our borders and reducing the cost of energy. If you want to bring down bills for families and bring industry back to this country, you need a plan to scrap the net zero legislation that is strangling industry and making energy costs higher. That is why we are proposing a cheap energy Bill to do just that.

    If you want businesses to employ people, you need to stop crushing them with thousands of pages of employment laws and stop handing power to the unions. You need to stop hammering businesses with tax rises. That is why we are proposing a get Britain working Bill, which would scrap laws that are no longer fit for purpose and are killing jobs.

    If you want to get a grip on illegal immigration and remove foreign criminals from the country, you must have a plan to leave the European convention on human rights and repeal the Human Rights Act. Efforts to get control of our borders have been frustrated because power has been taken out of the hands of Ministers. We need to bring that power back, so that we do not have murderers staying in our country because the courts stop us from deporting them. Our alternative King’s Speech shows how it can be done, letting the Government, not the courts, decide who comes and goes. Prime Ministers are going to keep running into problems until they deal with activist lawyers and international agreements that tie the Government’s hands against the interests of the British public. [Interruption.] Labour Members are chuntering that this is “boring.” Does someone want to stand up and tell us who they are supporting: the plotters or the PM? I know that is what they really want to get to. They are not interested in hearing what the plan for the country should be, because they are too focused on Labour party problems.

    Next, we must reduce welfare spending, which is eating every penny that we generate in income tax and more. We must spend much more on defence. Even former Labour Defence Secretaries are pleading with the Government to do so. That is why we are proposing a sovereign defence fund that will overhaul Britain’s defence industrial base. That is what the alternative could be. The alternative King’s Speech makes difficult choices, because that is what leadership is. We have laid out these plans now because we are more than happy for Labour to take them; they might be our political opponents, but we are all citizens of this country. We recognise the enormous challenges facing Britain. We want to see those problems solved, and so do our constituents.

    Time and again, I have offered the Prime Minister support to pass difficult legislation. Time and again, he has turned it down. It might be too late for him now, but it is not too late for his successor. It is time to get serious—it is time to deliver. That is what the British public expect, and it is what the Conservative party will do.

  • Chris Vince – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Chris Vince – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Chris Vince, the Labour MP for Harlow, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2026.

    It is an absolute honour to second this Humble Address. First, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) for her incredibly powerful speech and echo her words about the importance of communities coming together to tackle the divisive politics that we have seen so often. I thank her for those comments.

    May I also echo her comments about the House staff and the incredible job that they do to support all of us? Following my recent London marathon run, two of the Doorkeepers suggested that the only reason Sabastian Sawe did it in less than two hours was to get away from me talking about Harlow. As a big fan of curries, I look forward to having the opportunity to sample one in Bradford in the future, although I cannot speak for all my fellow Essex MPs.

    Speaking to this motion is a unique opportunity. I have checked the records, and I am the first MP for Harlow to have had the opportunity to do so—mind you, Harlow has only been a constituency since the 1970s, and I am not counting Winston Churchill, who represented what is now Harlow when it still came under Epping. It may be the first time that a Harlow MP has delivered this speech, but I believe that this opportunity has come at the right time. When I reflect on the hurdles ahead, a lot can be learned by looking at Harlow’s past and Harlow’s future.

    My seconding the Humble Address came about when I received a phone call from the Chief Whip on the train home. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West—and most Members across the House, I am sure—my first thought was, “What have I done wrong?” I thought that perhaps, as some Members across the House did, he had misheard me when I said “horned” during a speech; I did not much fancy explaining to him on a train full of my constituents that I had said “horned” and not another word that sounds like “horned”. Thankfully, that was not the case.

    The Chief Whip told me there were certain traditions around the King’s Speech—that the seconder’s speech should be humorous and was an opportunity to mention the Member’s constituency as often as possible. This did sound like a good gig to me, to be fair. I cannot necessarily promise humour—although I will give it a good go—but I can certainly promise that I will mention Harlow as often as possible. Those listening at home may wish to count the number of times I do so. I believe the current count is seven. [Interruption.] Is it eight? What did I do for a living?

    Harlow is never a dull place to represent. Members across the House will know that Harlow once again bucked the national trend when it came to last week’s local election results. We are getting quite good at that, even if it might not have been in quite the way I would have liked. However, it shows the ambition of the people of Harlow to see their town improve and grow—something that can only happen with this Government’s continued investment. Hint, hint!

    The Chief Whip also told me that it was tradition to have an established MP propose the Loyal Address and for a “bright young thing” to second it. I have to say that I am not particularly bright and I am not particularly young—[Hon. Members: “Ah!”] But I am definitely a thing, so I can claim one third of that description.

    I think the Chief Whip asked me to give this speech because he was aware that, on the last day of term, I failed to achieve my 400th contribution to Hansard. I thank everybody for being here so that I can now do so. In this parliamentary term I look forward to making 400 further contributions, with multiple references to Harlow, my mother’s sterling career at HMRC, and the fact that I may have previously been a maths teacher. [Hon. Members: “More!”] There is more; don’t worry.

    I think we all recognise, as His Majesty does, that this King’s Speech comes at an increasingly dangerous and volatile time that, like hon. Friends and other hon. Members, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about. During this turmoil, I have taken the time to reflect on what it means to be British—those British values. What is our country about? What is the real Britain? We mention Britishness more and more, but it can mean any number of things to any number of people.

    When I think about what it means to be British, I think about my recent experience running the London marathon. To be clear, I am not referring to when the right hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden), with his Union flag shorts on, overtook me on mile 17, just as I hit the metaphorical wall. I have looked it up and he is two years younger than me, so I have an excuse.

    During my marathon run—or perhaps in my case I should say my marathon limp—along the streets of London, I saw neither hate nor division. I saw unity. I saw people coming together to cheer on perfect strangers in their shared endeavour. I saw Gordon Ramsay randomly heckle me to carry on. I even got support from a Man United supporter. I saw everyone—man or woman, black or white, gay or straight—all lining the 26.2-mile course. And by the way, that 0.2 miles at the end is only made possible by those supporters. That is the Britain I know. That is the Britain that I love.

    That sense of supporting one another, and of coming together as a community in hardship and celebration, is alive and well in Harlow. In fact, it was baked into the very foundation of Harlow when it was first conceived as part of the new town revolution under the first majority Labour Government in 1945.

    Harlow remains a strong community today. When I think of Britishness, I think of Rainbow Services, which supports projects across Harlow by getting young people to build infrastructure for their community; I think of Streets2Homes, the homelessness charity I worked at that supports the most vulnerable in our society; and I think about the Michael Roberts charitable foundation, which runs the local food bank.

    As I mentioned, Harlow is a post-war new town designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd to be a place of neighbourhoods and communities. It was built as a solution to the problem of overcrowding in London. Harlow sought to alleviate that pressure, while keeping communities tightly knit together. We can still see remnants of that today, with people from Walthamstow moving to The Stow in Harlow, which gives people a fresh start in life with all the comforts of their community. To this day, Harlow is one community built by lots of smaller and close communities—communities like Potter Street, Bush Fair, Church Langley and Little Parndon.

    As Harlow grew into its new town, so too did its pioneering spirit. Just two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to recognise one of those pioneers by unveiling a blue plaque in memory of Harlow-raised scientist Dr George Hockham, one of the key brains behind the invention of the fibre-optic cable. Fibre-optic cable, created in Harlow, revolutionised modern communication not just in Britain, but across the world. For me, George Hockham and many others like him from Harlow can be an inspiration for Harlow’s next generation—a generation who deserve a Government on their side. I also think of inspirations like Professor Hannah Fry and Paralympian Anne Strike. These inspirations are a reminder of what it means to be British, to achieve so much and to have such a proud community behind you.

    Harlow has a history to be proud of and a future to be excited about. As a former teacher—I do not know whether I have mentioned that fact—I am filled with pride when I visit schools across Harlow and see the incredible young people learning there. That is why I am proud that education is at the heart of this Government’s offer in the King’s Speech, building on the work done in the previous parliamentary Session.

    Looking to this Session, the Government will tackle the broken special educational needs and disabilities system, giving every young person with SEND the support they need and supporting parents, not leaving them to battle a broken system. This issue cuts across this House. I am sure every hon. Member can recall a constituent coming to them broken, with nowhere to turn, at their wits’ end with a SEND system that benefits no one; I certainly can.

    I also welcome the Government’s commitment to review the national curriculum to make it broader, recognising the importance of citizenship and financial education and the dangers of online harm. What our younger generation learn is so important. If I could achieve one thing, when I look back on my time serving Harlow, I want it to be achieving for the young people in Harlow the aspiration that they deserve. Every young person now sitting in a classroom in Harlow—primary or secondary—should have the opportunity to aspire to achieve whatever they want to do. That is what I want for Harlow.

    Some might say the fact that I am standing in this Chamber, giving this speech, means that anyone can achieve anything if they are resilient enough. Let me tell you, Mr Speaker, I can roll with the punches, and believe me, my journey to these Green Benches did not happen without me getting knocked down along the way. I say now, directly to the young people of Harlow: Do not give up on your dreams. Do not let someone tell you that you can’t do it. If you really want something and you are willing to work hard for it, you can achieve it. I am proof of that, and I know that in this Government, you have a Prime Minister dedicated to giving that opportunity to others—because he is even more proof of it than I am.

    I would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to mention a personal focus of mine in this place: supporting young carers and young adult carers. I call on the Government once again to ensure that support for those particularly incredible young people is a golden thread running through everything that they do.

    Of course, Harlow is about more than just its young people, and my community has not been immune to the pressures of the cost of living crisis. I welcome the work already done—the freezing of rail fares and prescription charges, the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and the raising of the minimum wage—but most of all I am pleased that this Government, in this King’s Speech, recognise that there is more to do to support families in Harlow.

    When we talk about cost of living pressures, it is easy to get lost in the numbers— as a mathematician at heart, that is even easier for me. But to bring the issue home, when I think of the reality facing hard-working and proud families in Harlow, I think of my friend Jamie, who works six days a week to pay the bills, put food on the table for his two-year-old son and provide for his family. At the end of the month, he has very little, if anything. He cannot enjoy himself. He cannot treat his family. This parliamentary Session must be defined by being the one where we see living standards improve for everyone in our society, not just for the privileged few. That is what will be in my mind’s eye when I cast my votes in this place.

    I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) is waiting anxiously for me to point out that I stand here in this place as not just a Labour MP, but a Labour and Co-operative MP. I am proud of the Co-operative party and the work it has been doing alongside the Government to empower local communities, like mine in Harlow, through community ownership. I hope this next Session will bring even more co-operative opportunities for people in Harlow.

    Of course, like those of many hon. Members in this place, my constituency name does not encompass the full nature of my area. The Harlow constituency does not end at the town boundary; I also represent incredible villages with incredible histories. I represent Roydon, a village that first appeared in the Domesday Book. Bordering Roydon are Lower Nazeing and Dobbs Weir, which are home to the Lea Valley growers—some of the biggest vegetable producers in the country. I also represent Sheering, one of whose most notable residents is Rod Stewart. For the first time, Harlow also includes Hatfield Heath and Hatfield Broad Oak—I know that the Leader of the Opposition will vaguely remember those places—which are incredible communities with a strong sense of what it means to look after your neighbour; I have got a “Neighbours” reference in there for the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport! Ironically, one of my predecessors, Bill Rammell, moved out of Harlow to one of the villages, but Harlow was not keen on this so it expanded its boundaries to include him back in the constituency, and we welcome him.

    Part of the fun of representing such a diverse community, with its healthy share of rural and urban, is the mix I get to experience as its MP. I can visit local businesses in the morning, talk to a group of students in the afternoon, and then round up the day with a community event. I have attended my fair share of community events, although I am not convinced it was a great idea to run the Matching village 10K a week after the London marathon. I did not see the right hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay there—just saying! Perhaps he had already finished. [Laughter.] On the point about running, when I took part in the London marathon, I received the card from my parliamentary team wishing me luck, with one member of my team commenting: “You’ve run in enough elections, so a marathon should be easy.”

    That brings me to my conclusion and to the line that I want to end with, which is from one of my own former teachers. Did I mention I was a teacher? Mr Feeley used to teach me science, although I am not really sure that we learned a lot of science in his lessons. However, I think this line perfectly sums up this Government. We should always remember: “it’s a marathon and not a sprint.” I would respectfully remind Members of that.

  • Naz Shah – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Naz Shah – 2026 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Naz Shah, the Labour MP for Bradford West, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2026.

    I beg to move,

    That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, as follows:

    Most Gracious Sovereign,

    We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

    It would be remiss of me not to say a few words about the outstanding state visit by His Majesty to the United States. We saw eloquent oratory, remarkable wit and genuine statesmanship from His Majesty. Presenting President Trump with the original brass bell—inscribed with his name before he was even born—from the second world war submarine HMS Trump and suggesting, if he needs us, to “give us a ring” was a masterstroke in diplomacy. His Majesty returned—very humbly, of course—having secured the lifting of trade barriers on Scotch whisky. Given the performance, I was rather worried His Majesty might come back with the 13 colonies as well.

    It is a huge honour for me and my constituents in Bradford West for me to move the Loyal Address. This is the second time that my constituency has been honoured in this way. In 1959, the then Member for Bradford, West, Arthur Tiley, seconded the Loyal Address. When the Chief Whip called me about today, my first reaction, like many across this House when the Chief calls, was, “Uh-oh, what have I done?” However, that “Uh-oh” soon turned into, “Oh my days—no way!” with the biggest smile ever.

    I clearly remember listening to the speeches by my hon. Friends the Members for Bootle (Peter Dowd) and for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) the last time this occasion happened, and thinking, “Now, that is an honour.” Had I known God was listening, I would have asked to win the EuroMillions. In fact, had I known that not always voting with the Government also works, I might have done more of it. [Laughter.]

    I am indeed humbled and honoured, primarily for being trusted by the people of Bradford West in placing their faith in me and sending me to this place, but also by being given this opportunity to be the first ever Muslim to propose the Loyal Address in this Chamber—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear”]—and, of course, seeing the meltdown of the far right online at a “Muslim takeover” and even an “act of domination”. In the light of this, I must assure them this is not a takeover. I must state it is, per convention, a joke—[Laughter.] But if seeing black and brown people on TV makes you feel sick, my speech is going to make you vomit. [Laughter.]

    On a more serious note, over the last few months I have had the opportunity to tell my own story: the story of my life and the challenges I faced growing up. I often pinch myself while in this Chamber, questioning how a girl who lived the life that I lived could be given such an honour to represent her city in the mother of all Parliaments. It is because, despite the challenges we may face as a nation and the differences in approach that we present across the House, I know without a doubt that, as someone who comes from the ethnic, religious and socioeconomic background that I came from, and whose entire live crashed before her, I would never have been given such an honour in any other country than this one—my own country, our country. For me, there is no nation greater than ours. We are the greatest nation on earth, and I am a true patriot. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

    Raised in abject poverty, living in a single room because we could not afford to heat the whole house and suffering tuberculosis as a result, I understand at first hand what this means. Therefore, I welcome the Government’s continued commitment to prioritise addressing the cost of living crisis. In doing so, we cannot ignore the instability across the world around us: the plight of the Palestinians, the war in Ukraine, the instability in the strait of Hormuz, and the growing global threats for which we must also be ready.

    Living in a globalised world means that there is an ever-growing connection between the local, the national and the international. What happens out there reaches every home and doorstep across every constituency. The defence of our country is rightly also among these top agenda items. As a proud graduate of the armed forces parliamentary scheme—I recommend that all Members take part in and support it—I have nothing but admiration and thanks for those who have served and continue to serve to protect our tomorrow.

    I also have the honour to serve as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy for Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a region of more than 660 million people, and a hugely important geopolitical and trade corridor. I welcome the continued commitment to strengthening our place across the world. Without international trade and growth in our economy, we cannot deliver the jobs, investment and support we need across our country. I will continue to play my part in securing trade and investment for the UK, and championing British business abroad with colleagues from across the House.

    Closer to home, I had the honour to serve in Committee for the assisted dying Bill—something that went beyond party lines—where I had the opportunity to work with colleagues from across the House, including the hon. Member for East Wiltshire (Danny Kruger). While I did not eventually support the Bill, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for her work, commitment and passion.

    Talking about going beyond party lines, I noted with interest, as I am sure the whole nation did too, the rather peculiar fascination of the previous Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the noble Lord Gove, with our Home Secretary. He actually confessed to browsing the internet for her images. Thankfully, knowing our Home Secretary as I do, I am confident that this is not the kind of cross-party mischief that she would reciprocate. [Laughter.]

    But I do have a guilty pleasure of my own—and no, it is not a Tory. [Laughter.] Unfortunately for my calorie count, it is custard and cake. I blame Godfrey and Sharon in the Tea Room for their unwavering encouragement to indulge “sparingly”. [Laughter.]

    I am proud to be the first woman elected to Parliament for the constituency of Bradford West, a constituency with a history of extraordinary women who broke every barrier that patriarchy put in front of them. The Brontë sisters changed English literature forever but had to use men’s names to publish their writing. The suffragettes of Bradford went to Holloway prison for the right to vote. The women of Manningham Mills walked out into the cold, changing our political landscape forever. Margaret McMillan pioneered free school meals—trialled in 1904 in the school I later attended, Green Lane primary—leading to the Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906, which cemented free school meals in our history.

    Barbara Castle, shaped by Bradford’s streets and schools, went on to write equal pay into law, and I am proud to serve alongside equally formidable women, such as my hon. Friends the Members for Bradford South (Judith Cummins) and for Shipley (Anna Dixon). There is something in the air in Bradford as a whole that produces women who will not be told. I promise this House that I have zero intention of breaking with that.

    Today our country beams with pride because of the many great changes made by successive Labour Governments, but none of those changes would have been possible without the women who led the Manningham Mills strike. That strike led to the founding of the Independent Labour party, conceived and formed in Bradford West. It was in Bradford that a man named Keir first took the chair of the Labour movement, and despite 130 years, two world wars, and roughly 47 leadership elections, the party remains in the hands of a Keir. Prime Minister, nobody can say that you do not know how to fight on.

    I could not make this speech without recognising David Hockney—a boy from a Bradford terrace who pushed his paintings around the city in a pram. David went on to become the world’s most famous living artist. He once said that if you look closely, Bradford is a city with magic. I do not know whether he was looking into the future and describing Bradford magician Dynamo, Zayn Malik’s magical music, or the leg-spinning, world cup-winning magic of our very own Adil Rashid, but Bradford is without question a place of wonders.

    Bradford is also a place of culture. The Bradford literature festival is often referred to as the jewel in the crown; it is now one of the largest literature festivals in the UK, and the largest of its kind throughout Europe, pairing excellence with access for those who would otherwise be excluded from culture. In 2025, Bradford was proud to be named UK City of Culture, home to a rich, diverse population, built on the back of the historic title of the wool capital of the world.

    In the 1850s, German-Jewish merchants came to Bradford and built the magnificent warehouses of what we now call Little Germany, helping to make Bradford a global trading city and the proud home of the oldest synagogue in the north. It is a synagogue that the Muslim community recently stepped in to save when the roof was about to cave in, illustrating the relationship between the Muslim and Jewish communities in Bradford. A century after the German-Jewish merchants, men from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India, and Pakistan arrived in the 1950s and 60s, and worked tireless nightshifts to keep the mills running, ensuring Britain’s economy continued to flourish after the second world war. Each generation of newcomers did not just come to Bradford—they built Bradford.

    Chicken tikka masala might be the UK’s national dish, but I must inform the House that they have not had a curry until they have had a Bradford curry. Whether it is the legendary family naans on trees invented by the late king of curries Shabbir Hussain, the founder of Akbar’s, or the subcontinent flavours of Aaghra, Mumtaz, Jinnah, MyLahore, or any one of hundreds of restaurants across the city, Bradford does curry like nowhere else. The curries are that good they even defy the Mounjaro jab. A note to the Health Secretary: he may have to develop a stronger solution.

    I recommend Bradford’s curry to all Members of the House. Now that Bradford has a few Reform councillors, perhaps the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who I see is not in his place, could pay them a visit and treat them to a good curry, followed by a pint brewed in Bradford. In fact, given the size of the gift he received that we are all now aware of, he could probably take half of Bradford out and still be left with plenty of change.

    Bradford is the youngest city in the United Kingdom. It has been named the most entrepreneurial, too; Morrisons grew from a market stall in our city to a household name. Bradford has no poverty of aspiration, talent or ambition, but decades of poverty of infrastructure have left us behind.

    Bradford is, however, turning a corner, with £270 million in public sector investment building private sector confidence, with a combined pipeline now reaching £2.3 billion. I am grateful for our Government’s support, which includes: a new hospital in Airedale; a £2 billion integrated settlement for West Yorkshire, giving our Labour Mayor, Tracy Brabin, the power and flexibility to invest in local jobs, new homes and improving skills; a Bradford city station; and £2.1 billion investment in transport for the city region, enabling West Yorkshire to deliver mass transit, better buses and repair our roads and potholes. All that is pumping confidence into a city ready for investors to benefit from its untapped potential. Northern Powerhouse Rail is not a “nice to have”, but the difference between Bradford’s young people building their futures at home and building them somewhere else.

    I give thanks to all the House staff across the estate who ensure that Parliament can play the role it does. They are hugely deserving of our appreciation for everything they do. Outside of this place, I also thank the security services and our police forces, who keep us safe with the ever-increasing risks and threats to our democracy. Given the magnitude of this moment, I also emphasise the huge weight and burden of responsibility on our shoulders. When we speak in this Chamber, it carries meaning and impact; it impacts the boy who takes off his kippah and the girl who removes her hijab, fearing for their safety because their race and religion have become a political football. An attack on anyone, or anyone’s place of worship—a synagogue, a mosque, a church, a temple, a gurdwara or any kind of religious institution—is an attack on our British way of life. We must strengthen our communities against the rising tide of nationalism and populism. In an ever more dangerous world, and an ever more toxic online world, society needs unity, calmness and leadership more than ever to make our country the best it can be. The burden of responsibility falls on all our shoulders, and it has never been greater.

    It is also convention to part with words of wisdom for those who are slightly newer to this place. With that in mind, I simply say this: nurture the pragmatism of being an elected representative of the people who have put their trust in you and sent you here, but never forget the passion of an activist. Keep that fire burning—it is that passion that will sustain you and carry you through, because sometimes it gets difficult here.

    A King’s Speech is meant to be a fresh start—Parliament’s version of clearing the kitchen table, making room for the work ahead, gathering the family round and reminding ourselves what the country has sent us here to do. As hon. Members may know, I believe in a full table. In my home, hospitality matters. You make space, listen and serve people properly. But good hospitality and politics itself is about more than who speaks first or loudest. It is about noticing the quiet ones, those who may be less organised or not as powerful but who are none the less equally, if not more, important—the voiceless whose voices we need to become.

    For someone like me, who spent her formative years fighting a campaign to release her mother from prison and who did not have a formal education beyond the age of 12, spelling, grammar and parliamentary language do not come naturally. Forced into a marriage at 15, forced to live a life with hearing aids, lugging around a black bin liner of belongings as a homeless teenager, left all alone as a guardian to a younger brother and sister without a shoulder of support or stability in life, attempting suicide as I could not see a way out from my despair, yet here I stand—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Here I stand with the world’s eyes watching the state opening of Parliament on this momentous occasion, having been given the privilege of this moment. If this was not my story, I would believe it to be fiction. But the truth is that there can be light at the end of the tunnel. As I believe, and as my life personifies, after hardship comes ease.

    When I stood in this Chamber for the first time, I pinched myself—and I still do—that someone like me can end up here representing the city they love in the mother of all Parliaments. Bradford and my country gave me everything. I intend to spend every day in this House returning the favour. It is the honour of my life to move the Loyal Address on behalf of the people of Bradford West. I commend the motion to the House.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2026 Statement on Parliamentary Standards

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2026 Statement on Parliamentary Standards

    The statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 13 May 2026.

    The House has directed the Speaker to make a statement at the beginning of each Session about the duties and responsibilities of hon. Members. I begin by reminding Members of their duty to observe the code of conduct and behaviour code agreed by the House, and to behave with civility and fairness in all their dealings. Unacceptable behaviour that does not meet the standard of these codes will be dealt with seriously and independently, and with effective sanctions.

    The House asserts its privilege of freedom of speech. That privilege is enjoyed by Members of Parliament only in their work in proceedings of this House; as private individuals, we are equal under the law with those whom we represent. This privilege is there to ensure that our constituents can be represented without fear or favour. It is an obligation upon all of us to exercise that privilege responsibly. The Speaker does not have the power to police the accuracy of Members’ contributions—unfortunately. [Laughter.] It is incumbent on all Members to be accurate in what they say in this House, and to correct any mistakes as soon as possible.

    All Members, including Ministers, should take their responsibilities in this House seriously. I remind Ministers that the Government’s own ministerial code makes it clear that important policy announcements should be made in the first instance in this House when it is sitting—some people seem to have short memories. Both Front and Back Benchers must also adhere to the courtesies of this House. That includes informing other Members in advance of visits to their constituencies, except those for purely private purposes.

    I remind all Members that it is important that they are able to raise matters with me and seek guidance from the Clerks freely. For that reason, any such conversations and correspondence should be treated as confidential. I want all Members and everyone in the parliamentary community to be able to go about their work safely online, here in Westminster, and in their constituencies. We have a duty to be vigilant and to assist those whose job it is to keep us safe.

    Finally, I want to say something about how we treat each other and the language we use in the Chamber. What we say in this House, and how we say things, matters. It has an impact on colleagues, on those who follow our proceedings and on wider political discourse across the country. Members should be heard courteously, whatever their views, but in this place we are all honourable Members. While I expect robust political debate, I will not accept undignified language or improper criticism of individual Members. Our constituents expect us to focus on the very serious issues that they care about, rather than make cheap attacks on each other.

    If a Member falls short of the standards expected of us all, there are ways of dealing with that, but not by accusations made as sideswipes during questions or debates. If we fail to treat each other with respect in debate, it diminishes our work and risks raising the temperature of discussions outside this place—particularly on social media—which too often descend into abuse against Members and others. I expect Members from all sides to treat each other with respect.

    Before moving to the first business of the new Session, I would like to express my very best wishes to all hon. Members, and to thank all those who work for the House and for Members for their continuing support. They are the unsung heroes. I thank them all for working with Members and for working in this House.

  • John McDonnell – 2026 Comments on Wes Streeting

    John McDonnell – 2026 Comments on Wes Streeting

    The comments made by John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, on 13 May 2026.

    Just a thought. Wes Streeting owes his political status to the support he’s received over years from Peter Mandelson & Morgan McSweeney at Labour Together. He wouldn’t make a move against Keir Starmer without Mandelson’s say so. So look on this as Mandelson’s and Morgan’s revenge.

  • Katie Hopkins – 2026 Statement on Zara Sultana

    Katie Hopkins – 2026 Statement on Zara Sultana

    The statement made by Katie Hopkins on 13 May 2026.

    On behalf of their client, Zara Sultana, Bindmans Media and Information Law Practise Group requires that I publish the following statement on X, and that such statement must be clearly visible and pinned to my profile for a continuous period of no less than 24 hours:

    “On 30 March 2026, I published a post on my X account addressed to Zarah Sultana in which I stated that she encourages and incites violence and is friends with terrorists.

    Those statements are false. I was wrong and offer my sincere apologies to Ms Sultana for the harm and distress caused to her.”

    It is my very great pleasure to do this, and I reiterate my sincere and repeated offer to meet with Miss Zara Sultana in person to resolve our differences.

  • Wes Streeting – 2026 Comments on Maternity Review

    Wes Streeting – 2026 Comments on Maternity Review

    The comments made by Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 13 May 2026.

    The families in Sussex who have campaigned so tirelessly for this review have shown extraordinary courage. Their commitment to ensuring no other families suffer what they have is admirable, and they deserve the full truth about what happened to them and their babies.

    The scope we have set out is deliberately broad and inclusive with all eligible cases included automatically unless families choose otherwise.

    Donna Ockenden has already shown, time and again, that she has the expertise and confidence of the families to lead a thorough review, and I have every confidence she will do the same in Sussex.

  • King Charles III – 2026 King’s Speech to Parliament

    King Charles III – 2026 King’s Speech to Parliament

    The speech made by King Charles III in the House of Lords on 13 May 2026.

    My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. An increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom, with the conflict in the Middle East only the most recent example. Every element of the nation’s energy, defence and economic security will be tested.

    My Government will respond to this world with strength and aim to create a country that is fair for all. My Ministers will take decisions that protect the energy, defence and economic security of the United Kingdom for the long-term. They will defend the British values of decency, tolerance and respect for difference under our common flag, and they will harness the potential of the pride felt across this country for its communities. My Government will take urgent action to tackle antisemitism and ensure all communities feel safe.

    My Government believes that the United Kingdom’s economic security depends on raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. My Ministers will support measures that maintain stability and control the cost of living. They will use public investment to shape markets and attract further private investment. They will deploy the power of an active State in partnership with business and enable reforms that support higher growth and a fair deal for working people.

    My Government believes that improved trading relations are vital for the United Kingdom’s economic security, for significantly raising economic growth, and for lowering prices for working people. My Ministers will introduce legislation to take advantage of new trading opportunities, including a Bill to strengthen ties with the European Union [European Partnership Bill]. My Government will also support the economic security of British businesses. Legislation will be introduced to tackle late payments [Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill] and to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation through innovation [Regulating for Growth Bill].

    The United Kingdom’s economic security depends upon world class infrastructure. Legislation will be introduced to unlock the benefits of airport expansion [Civil Aviation Bill]; enable roads to be built at pace including the Lower Thames Crossing [Highways (Financing) Bill]; and deliver a fair deal for the North of England through Northern Powerhouse Rail [Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill]. My Ministers will continue to take all action necessary to safeguard the domestic production of steel [Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill].

    My Government will also improve the United Kingdom’s security by continuing to invest in the renewal of public services. My Ministers will push forward with significant reforms to the police [Police Reform Bill], the National Health Service [NHS Modernisation Bill], and to the criminal justice system [Courts Modernisation Bill] to help them deliver services the British people expect. Legislation will be introduced to increase confidence in the security of the immigration and asylum systems [Immigration and Asylum Bill]. My Government will improve critical infrastructure with legislation to clean-up the water industry [Clean Water Bill] and establish Great British Railways [Railways and Passenger Benefits Bill].

    My Government believes that the United Kingdom should be a country fair for all and a place where every child is included in the nation’s highest aspirations. My Ministers believe that every child deserves the chance to succeed to the best of his or her ability and not be held back due to poverty, special educational needs, or a lack of respect for vocational education. My Ministers will continue to invest in apprenticeships and measures that tackle youth unemployment. They will respond to the Milburn Review and the Timms Review and continue to reform the welfare system to support both young and disabled people to flourish in work as the basis for long-term economic security. A Bill will be brought forward to raise standards in schools and introduce generational reforms of the special educational needs system [Education for All Bill]. My Ministers will also proceed with the introduction of Digital ID that will modernise how citizens interact with public services [Digital Access to Services Bill].

    Alongside strong public services and a strong economy, the highest standards of trust in public office are essential for the social contract and the United Kingdom’s collective security. My Government will introduce the Hillsborough Law to bring forward a duty of candour for public servants [Public Office (Accountability) Bill]. My Ministers will also introduce legislation to enable peerages to be removed [Removal of Peerages Bill]. My Government will bring forward proposals that strengthen the delivery, accountability, innovation and productivity of the Civil Service. These proposals will also seek to safeguard its impartiality and core values, to enhance trust and confidence in the institutions of government.

    My Government will bring forward a Bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft Bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill].

    In this volatile world, my Government will continue to pursue foreign policy based on a calm assessment of the national interest. It will continue its unflinching support for the brave people of Ukraine, who fight on the frontline of freedom. My Ministers will seek to improve relations with European partners as a vital step in strengthening European security. It will continue to promote long term peace in the Middle East and the Two-State solution in Israel and Palestine.

    My Government will also uphold the United Kingdom’s unbreakable commitment to NATO and our NATO allies, including through a sustained increase in defence spending.

    My Government will seek to reinforce the long-term energy, defence and economic security of the United Kingdom as an essential component of strength on the world stage. This will include housing, which can be a source of insecurity for many people. My Ministers will bring forward legislation to increase long-term investment in social housing [Social Housing Renewal Bill] and to reform the leasehold system, including the capping of ground rents [Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill].

    My Government will introduce legislation to tackle the growing threat from foreign state entities and their proxies [Tackling State Threats Bill]. They will respond to the horrific attack in Southport with measures to protect the British people from extreme violence, and honour the victims, the injured and their families [National Security Bill]. My Ministers will also introduce legislation to improve the country’s defences against cyber-security threats [Cyber Security and Resilience Bill].

    My Government will support our gallant Armed Forces and their families who make considerable personal sacrifices for the collective security and freedom of everyone in the United Kingdom. My Ministers will recognise this service with an Armed Forces Bill that improves the service justice system and establishes the Armed Forces covenant in statute [Armed Forces Bill].

    My Ministers believe that energy independence must be a long-term goal of national security and that the nation’s energy security requires long-term investment and reform, as demonstrated by recent events in the Middle East. Increased production of clean British energy will help to ensure that enemies of the United Kingdom cannot attack the economic security of the British people. My Ministers will therefore introduce an Energy Independence Bill to scale-up homegrown renewable energy and protect living standards for the long-term [Energy Independence Bill].

    My Ministers will also take forward recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Review and encourage a new era of British nuclear energy generation [Nuclear Regulation Bill].

    My Government will remain a leading advocate for tackling climate change and achieving a world free from poverty. The United Kingdom will also take action to reduce humanitarian need and conflict around the world.

    My Ministers will champion the rights of women and girls to live in a world free from violence. This will include promoting women’s full economic and political participation within their societies, with agency over the decisions that impact their lives.

    Next year, the United Kingdom will take on the G20 Presidency and host the G20 Summit to drive global growth and reinforce global stability, which is essential for the prosperity of working people across the country.

    My Government is committed to the strength and integrity of the Union of the United Kingdom and will continue to work closely with the devolved governments to deliver for citizens across the whole of the nation.

    Members of the House of Commons

    Estimates for the public services will be laid before you.

    My Lords and Members of the House of Commons

    Other measures will be laid before you.

    I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.