Starmer to unveil 35 bills in Kings Speech 2026
Keir Starmer will use kings speech 2026 on Wednesday to set out 35 bills for the next parliamentary session. The package spans housing, immigration and energy, and it is the clearest sign yet of what his government wants to push through over the next 12 months.
Starmer said on Tuesday night that the British people expect his government to “get on with the job of changing our country for the better. Cutting the cost of living, bringing down hospital waiting lists and keeping our country safe in an increasingly dangerous world.” He also said, “Britain stands at a pivotal moment: to press ahead with a plan to build a stronger, fairer country or turn back to the chaos and instability of the past. My government will deliver on the promise of change for the British people.”
Starmer's 35 bills
The legislative package includes a bill to move closer to the EU, with measures that would let British regulations be changed to align with EU ones. The government also plans a bill to strengthen the immigration system, and another aimed at all but ending the leasehold system.
That list gives a concrete readout of where ministers want to spend political capital in the next session. It also means the speech will go beyond broad promises and into specific bills that would touch housing, trade rules and immigration policy.
British Steel and NHS England
Among the named measures is an energy independence bill designed to facilitate the transition to clean power. It includes implementing measures recommended by John Fingleton to make it easier to build nuclear power plants. The king will also announce a bill to fully nationalise British Steel.
Wes Streeting will oversee a bill to abolish NHS England, while Bridget Phillipson will legislate for reforms to special educational needs. Ministers will also launch a leasehold reform bill that will ban the sale of new leasehold flats, though the reported timing means it would not actually take effect until after the next election.
King Charles at Westminster
Security arrangements are already in place for the monarch to attend the state opening of parliament. Royal sources said on Tuesday that the ceremony could prove embarrassing for King Charles, after a discussion in which one of Charles’s senior aides asked top government officials whether he should go ahead with Wednesday’s ceremony.
Buckingham Palace was told that it was constitutionally correct for the king to open parliament on Wednesday as planned. The speech now becomes the point at which Starmer has to turn his promise of change into a legislative timetable, with each bill giving MPs and ministers something specific to argue over once Parliament is in session.
