Key Insights from King Charles III's Speech on Labour Government Priorities

IGEM Royal Patron, Kings Charles III, has today (17 July) delivered the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament. The Speech, which set out the new Labour government's priorities for the coming months, included reference to 40 pieces of legislation across a spectrum of policy issues.

In the speech, securing economic growth was identified as a fundamental mission for government with wealth creation across all communities named as a priority. A core part of the Labour manifesto, to “Get Britain Building”, was reconfirmed with a focus on planning reform and the development of high-quality infrastructure and housing.

There were no big surprises in terms of energy policy, having had a clear steer from the Labour government on what their legislative priorities were in the run up to and immediately following their election.

It was encouraging to see emphasis given to the urgency of the climate challenge, but also recognition of the job opportunities it presents. The speech reaffirmed the government's commitment to a clean energy transition, which will "lower bills over time". It included new legislation (the Energy Independence Bill) which will create the publicly-owned company, Great British Energy. This entity will be headquartered in Scotland and will help accelerate investment in renewable energy, supporting an overarching aim to unlock energy infrastructure and achieve greater energy independence – essential components of the government's ambitious mission of clean power by 2030.

An Industrial Strategy, which is currently in development, will be shaped by a new Industrial Strategy Council which will set targets and monitor progress across government. The last formal Industrial Strategy was published in 2017, so we are pleased to see a renewed focus in this area.

As expected, legislation to deliver the National Wealth Fund (NWF) was reconfirmed.  providing investment for key technologies such as renewable hydrogen production and low-carbon steelmaking. Other legislation measures include support for sustainable aviation fuel production.

Reassuringly, the speech confirmed that the government recognises that skills development is a vital part of ensuring we can deliver the green transition and economic growth – with plans to form a new national skills body, Skills England, to raise educational standards, support greater collaboration between educators and industry and look at apprenticeship reform. We expect further details on this to be delivered by the Education Secretary in Parliament this week.

The traditional Parliamentary summer recess has been pushed back, so there may be time to progress some of the legislation through parliament before the summer break, but with the government’s significant voting majority we don’t expect any significant blockers to the legislative process. The Policy team at IGEM will be closely following the developments of these Bills and reporting back on how they may impact the gas sector.