A time for ‘difficult but necessary’ decisions: King Charles outlines Sunak’s agenda as U.K. heads to elections

King Charles III opens new session of Parliament, unveils Sunak govt's legislative agenda for long-term policy direction. Speech includes bills on oil and gas, criminal justice, AI, housing, healthcare, media, boycotts & trade deals. Next opportunity to announce plans is Nov 22 Autumn Statement.

Britain’s King Charles III opened a new session of the country’s parliament on Wednesday, unveiling the legislative agenda of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Announcing “difficult but necessary” legislation across sectors including oil and gas, criminal justice, AI, housing and healthcare, the speech sought to define the long-term policy direction of the Sunak government, which is struggling to compete in polls with the opposition Labour Party, as the country gears up for elections next year.

‘The King’s Speech ‘ — the first in over 70 years ( when there was a ‘Queen’s Speech’) — was read out by the monarch but authored by the prime minister and is part of an ancient ceremony in Westminster, that included an MP being held “hostage” in Buckingham Palace while the king was in parliament.

“Covid and the war in Ukraine had created long-term challenges for the country,” King Charles said, adding,

“That is why my Government’s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long-term decisions to change this country for the better.”

In a background note to the speech, Mr Sunak highlighted the ‘long term’ theme of the speech, arguing that the U.K. had “turned the corner” since last year’s economic crisis, and it was now time to change the country for the long term.

Dressed in ceremonial regalia on a throne beside his wife, Queen Camilla, King Charles, a staunch environmentalist, was compelled by the constraints of his constitutional office to declare before a chamber of peers, MPs and visitors that “his government” would make it easier to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.