Labour say their ‘mandate for change’ will see a raft of new legislation introduced designed to prioritise growth in the King’s Speech at the official State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17th July.
The speech will include proposals to launch a National Wealth Fund to ‘drive investment into the UK,’ to a new Mission Control to push forward the clean energy agenda, and recruiting a new border security command. The role of the Office of Budget Responsibility will be strengthened ‘to ensure nobody can play fast and loose with the public finances ever again.’ And the party have committed to legislation that will ‘help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders who know what is best for their areas.’
There are already calls for a ‘rethink’ on Inheritance Tax with suggestions that larger estates should pay more. Chris Lloyd-Smith, partner in the private legal services team at law firm, Anthony Collins, says:
“The new Labour Government should maintain the current system for IHT and reconsider increasing rates for larger estates and/or the reform on reliefs that can be claimed. Without reliefs, the death of a business owner could mean the end of a family-run business and could have other wide-ranging implications. We urge the new Government to ensure that any decisions are fully costed and are made in consultation with the Office for Budget Responsibility and practitioners in the field.”
Campaign groups have also called for the new government to prioritise cohabitation reform following a speech at the Labour Party conference last year in which Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry MP said that a Labour government would reform the law for cohabiting couples.
More than 35 bills are being prepared according to a government statement, which will build on the statements already made in the first weeks of Labour taking office with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying:
“Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste. We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.”
“From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbo charge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.”
“The task of national renewal will not be easy, and this is just the down payment on our plans for the next five years, but the legislation set out at the King’s Speech will build on the momentum of our first days in office and make a difference to the lives of working people.”