King’s Speech

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Smith of Basildon) (Lab)]

My Lords, I would first like to thank Their Majesties for gracing us with their presence today. I am sure the whole House will join me in wishing Her Majesty a very happy birthday.

It is a great pleasure to follow all noble Lords who have moved and supported the humble Address. This is my eighth response from the Dispatch Box—and, in a break from tradition, my first from this side of the Chamber. I have greatly appreciated the many messages I have received from across the whole House. It is a pleasure to welcome back all noble Lords for this Parliament, with a special mention to new colleagues who will take up ministerial office. Although we are not an entirely political House, many Members here were involved in the general election, sharing the highs and lows—and riding, as I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Newby, did, the Ed Davey rollercoaster of campaign emotions.

Although today is a happy occasion, I want to take a moment to remember those colleagues who are not with us today. We are fortunate that we make many friends across your Lordships’ House and it is right that we remember those who have passed and retired in the previous Session. On the topic of friendship, I thank my colleagues on the Labour Benches: for the nine long years that I have led the Opposition, I have enjoyed and been sustained by their support. I give my serious thanks to them, particularly to those who have served on our Front Bench, as Deputy Leaders and as Chief and Deputy Chief Whips.

I am sure the whole House will join me in thanking those who served in the previous Government. It is not always recognised just how demanding the work of Ministers and Whips can be, and we especially appreciated those whose courtesy and generosity of spirit, both in the Chamber and outside, was in the best traditions of public service. They allowed your Lordships’ House to fulfil our responsibilities as a scrutinising and revising Chamber.

It is an honour and a privilege to be the Leader of your Lordships’ House and to succeed the noble Lord, Lord True. His natural modesty and reticence probably means that he will frown at me at this point—and he is doing. He is passionate about the constitutional role of your Lordships’ House, and his respect for that never dims. Having started as a special adviser in 1997, he became a Peer in 2011 and then Leader from 2022. The Leader has a dual responsibility here, to their Government and to this House, and he navigated that with thoughtfulness and consideration. Personally, I also thank him as we generally agreed on House matters, but when we did not we were able to disagree agreeably. I look forward to—I hope—maintaining that constructive relationship.

The relationship with the leadership quad of the noble Lord, Lord True, the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Trafford, and the noble Earls, Lord Howe and Lord Courtown, made the usual channels’ discussions constructive and friendly. My noble friend Lord Kennedy of Southwark paid tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, at Prorogation and I add my own thanks. Throughout her time in government, she was open and engaging. I also pay tribute to the noble Earl, Lord Howe, who has so far served on the Conservative Front Bench for a record 33 years, latterly as Deputy Leader. He has many friends across this House; I hope he does not mind me saying that those of us who have been privileged to witness his acting skills all concur that the theatre’s loss is Parliament’s gain.

It is a great pleasure to thank the proposer and seconder of the Motion for the humble Address. My noble friend Lord Reid served in a number of positions in the Cabinet and was the first Secretary of State whom I worked for, as a Minister in Northern Ireland. That set a very high bar. Then, as today, he showed a deep political analysis, a passion for public service and affectionate humour. Like all in your Lordships’ House, I greatly enjoyed some of his more colourful tales today—there are many more—although I fear I am not the only one left with a lingering image of his hotel pool encounter with Lady Olga Maitland. On a more serious note, we must listen to his warnings about extremism being alive again across Europe. He understands how history can repeat itself and is correct that it will fall on social democrats, in the widest sense, to restore faith not just in good government but in politics more broadly.

My noble friend Lady Hazarika, having already impressed with her maiden speech before the election, has trumped it with a contribution that reinforces the star quality that she brings to our proceedings. Many noble Lords will know her as a journalist and broadcaster; I first met her when she was a special adviser in the last Labour Government and we would brief Harriet Harman for PMQs when she stood in for Gordon Brown. That was obviously great training for my noble friend’s next career as a stand-up comedian. That combination of fierce political intellect, generosity of spirit and the ability to see humour in so much of her life makes her a valuable and welcome Member of your Lordships’ House. Having worked on the Equality Act, she knows the transformative power of Labour Governments. She rightly raised issues relating to gender and race, and there is much more work for us to do. I look forward to her contributions.

Before turning to the content of the King’s Speech, I want briefly to reflect on the work of your Lordships’ House; I have had some time to think about this. The Government have a clear mandate for their programme, and have made a firm commitment to change how politics is done. I do not want to tread on the toes of the Chief Whip too early in announcing the length of the Session—it will be announced in due course—or which Bills will be coming forward, although I can tell the noble Lord, Lord True, that there will be three Bills starting in this House to be announced very soon. What I will say, however, is that it is important that we in your Lordships’ House have the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way. The wide range of expertise here can benefit the scrutiny of legislation. Obviously, there was never a golden age when a Secretary of State rejoiced at Lords amendments, but in recent years sensible proposals have too often been resisted just by default. Ministers in our Government will not accept all changes but, when the House expresses a constructive view, the Government should treat that with respect.

[A noble Lord]

Hear, hear!

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

Praise from the Back Benches—I hope that lasts. Those of us who have championed this House know that it works best when carrying out its functions of deliberation, scrutiny and challenge, not seeking to be a replica of the other place or simply to manage business by numbers. I am encouraged and supported by the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, who is in the same place as me and the Chief Whip on this, namely taking a whole-Parliament approach to achieving the best legislation. I am especially pleased that, for the first time since 2010, we have an Attorney-General in your Lordships’ House, with a deep commitment to upholding the rule of law.

This Government will do their best to ensure that Bills are developed ahead of introduction and to recognise the value of the rules and conventions of this House. At times, urgency may be essential. I hope that on those occasions, just as we worked with the previous Government on such occasions, the Opposition will do the same with us. We will not always get things right first time, but it is our dedicated aim—and we understand our responsibility as a Government to make it work—to ensure that both Government and Parliament benefit from the constructive consideration of legislation.

As I move on to the legislative programme, I must say that perhaps we have the balance right when one part of the Opposition is saying, “You are doing too much; how long will it take?”, and the other side is saying, “This is not enough”. I think the greatest challenge will be to re-establish the confidence in our democratic and political system and to show that it has the capacity to be a force for good. The morning after the election, in his first address in Downing Street, the Prime Minister reflected that too few people believe that the future will be better for their children. He pledged to lead a Government guided by public service and committed to national renewal. Since the pandemic, life satisfaction has declined, anxiety levels have increased, the cost of living crisis has added to a decline in living standards and the world feels more volatile than it has for many years. Driven by our mission-led approach to government, the gracious Speech set out an exciting and ambitious legislative programme to kick-start that period of national renewal and to lay the foundations for a country that is more secure and fairer, with opportunity for all.

There is no time to waste. Indeed, work has already begun. The Chancellor’s announcement of a national wealth fund will unlock private investment for infrastructure projects as part of our efforts to take the country from the bottom of the international GDP tables towards the top. The King’s Speech sets out a number of measures to secure economic growth. Our planning and infrastructure Bill, alongside an industrial strategy council, will get Britain building again, and through a strategic partnership with business, working people and government, we will prioritise wealth for all communities, regions and nations. British businesses and workers will take advantage of new technologies and skills, not just for a sustainable future but to improve productivity and lead the world in AI. The fiscal lock Bill will ensure that our tax and spending changes are independently considered by the Office for Budget Responsibility, to reinforce market confidence and restore public trust. Devolution and transport legislation will empower civic leaders to ensure that decision-making reflects local need and demand.

Tackling the climate emergency is not just an environmental imperative; it is also an economic opportunity. We have already scrapped the ban on onshore wind, and legislation to establish Great British Energy, alongside the Crown Estate Bill, will boost investment, expand renewable sources and bring us closer to achieving energy independence and security.

But the first duty of any Government is the safety and security of their citizens. The implementation of laws to strengthen security at public events and venues, Martyn’s law, is the culmination of a campaign that followed the tragic and terrible events at Manchester Arena in 2017. I commend those campaigners. We will also work to reduce violent crimes, raise confidence in the police and the criminal justice system and drastically reduce violence against women and girls.

On immigration, debate has felt too often like a political campaign tool rather than a serious determination to deal with issues. Our border security command will work with national and international partners to strengthen our borders, bring criminal people smugglers to justice and deter illegal migration to the UK.

To do this, it is essential that we harness the potential of all, regardless of background or means. We will break down the barriers to opportunity and raise education standards through the children’s well-being Bill, and removing the private school exemption will fund the recruitment of more than 6,000 new teachers, improving state school pupils’ access to qualified staff in core subjects. We will also do more to ensure that children attend and that they receive the mental health support that they need. We will work with businesses on a skills Bill and other initiatives, not just to grow the economy but to give young people the skills and job opportunities they need to achieve their true potential.

We will also deliver the long-overdue renters reform Bill, giving renters greater protections and ending no-fault evictions. My noble friend the Government Chief Whip will also be delighted that we will progress further reform of leasehold and commonhold, starting with important pre-legislative scrutiny.

Those who use and work in our National Health Service deserve better. Through a number of initiatives, including Bills on smoking and mental health, we will build an NHS fit for the future, reducing waiting times, providing more mental health support and improving preventative public health care.

As has already been alluded to, and as I think a few noble Lords will have noticed, the gracious Speech included a Bill to remove the remaining hereditary Peers sitting in your Lordships’ House, which was intended as a temporary measure but has lasted for 25 years. I was delighted that the Leader of the Opposition had taken such great interest in our manifesto—most of the issues he spoke about were actually in the manifesto and not in this King’s Speech. He made a point about consultation. I think it is helpful for us, as a House, to discuss how to move forward on these issues. That is not about delay; I think it is courtesy and consideration to ensure we get things right. When the Bill on hereditary Peers is introduced, we will have the opportunity to debate the details of it, but I want at the outset to recognise the public service of those Peers, many of whom have made an important contribution to your Lordships’ House. I am told that without the strapping young hereditary Peers, we would never have won the men’s tug of war competition against the House of Commons. There is a lesson there on why we lost the women’s tug of war against the House of Commons.

This is the opening Session of this Parliament and for our new Government, and I am proud that this King’s Speech sets out an ambitious programme for change. This is the first step in delivering the Prime Minister’s promises to return politics to service and to restore people’s trust in public institutions. It is a signal of our determination to enhance the UK’s reputation for fiscal responsibility, as a destination for investment and as a reliable partner on the global stage. I see it also as an important shift in attitude, with mission-led government to deliver stronger growth, healthier public services and improved opportunity for all.

Finally, as I have said, I am proud and honoured to have the dual role that I referred to earlier, of representing this House in the Cabinet and of being a member of the Government in your Lordships’ House. I can assure noble Lords that I, the Chief Whip and all members of the Government here look forward to engaging with noble Lords across the House. Collectively, we have an important duty to carry out over the course of this Session. With that call to action, it gives me great pleasure to support the Motion.

Debate adjourned until tomorrow.