Westminster Watch: Unpacking the King’s Speech 2026

Amid political turmoil in the fallout of Labour’s performance in May’s elections, the King’s Speech opened Parliament on 13 May 2026.

Each King’s Speech sets out the priorities and legislation that the current Government intends to pass in the forthcoming Parliamentary session.

The King’s Speech for Parliamentary session 2026-7 signposted an ambitious programme of 35 Bills across five thematic areas – with a particular emphasis on economic security, housing and infrastructure, and state reform. Full details of all the Bills in the Speech can be found in the Government’s background briefing notes published here.

In this latest edition of Westminster Watch, brought to you by DLA Piper’s UK Government Affairs team, we set out an update on the specific circumstances of this King’s Speech, followed by a summary of the key pieces of legislation clients should be aware of.

 

CONTEXT: IMPACT OF A LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONTEST

The King’s Speech takes place in the context of a potential contest to challenge Labour leader and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s position.

Depending on developments in coming weeks and months, as any Labour Party leadership contest formalises and candidates set out their ambitions when in office, the legislative agenda for 2026-7 may well be subject to change.

However, we would expect a new Prime Minister to face scrutiny and pressure to continue to progress legislation implementing commitments in the Labour Party manifesto on which this Government was elected in 2024. A wholesale change of approach is unlikely.

Clients looking for further details, including understanding particular sector impacts, should get in touch with a member of the UK Government Affairs team listed below.

 

KING’S SPEECH: MEASURES TO IMPROVE UK ECONOMIC & NATIONAL SECURITY

Geopolitical developments and their effect on UK living standards have become a central organising framework of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. The King’s Speech was no different: with the King’s opening lines noting the domestic impact of “an increasingly dangerous and volatile world”.

Security – whether “economic”, “energy”, “national” or “cyber” – is the keyword used to link much of the forthcoming legislation set out in the speech:

Economic security

• The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill will provide the Government with powers to transfer ownership of steel companies (either by a share or property transfer) into public ownership, once a public interest test has been met. This Bill is intended to facilitate the Government’s nationalisation of British Steel Ltd.
• The Highways (Financing) Bill will introduce the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model for major road infrastructure projects, most notably the Lower Thames Crossing.
• The Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill will be introduced as a renamed and adapted version of the High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill. It will provide the legislative framework for the Government to deliver rail upgrades across northern England.
• The European Partnership Bill will give the Government broad powers to fulfil treaty obligations in agreements with the EU where it serves the national interest, with the power to extend the application of the Bill to future treaties with the EU. Future agreements with the EU that the European Partnership Bill would cover include deals on electricity, emissions trading (see our upcoming Trade Truths article on UK CBAM), and food and drink.

Energy security

• An Energy Independence Bill will introduce new consumer protection measures, as well as market, planning and regulatory reform to accelerate the drive for energy security. The Bill also contains measures to deliver the green transition, introducing Transitional Energy Certificates for existing oil and gas fields and implementing the Labour manifesto commitment to end new coal licences.
• The Nuclear Regulation Bill will replace existing nuclear regulation with a new regulatory and legislative framework, improving the coordination and speed of regulatory decision making. The Bill comes after the Government accepted all 47 recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Review in principle.
• The Electricity Generator Levy Bill will increase the rate of the Electricity Generator Levy, to tax a greater proportion of any exceptional revenue that generators receive because of spikes in gas prices.

National and cyber security

• The Tackling State Threats Bill creates a new power for Government to designate organisations engaged in threatening activity linked to a foreign power.
• The National Security Bill will reform the cyber policing landscape, by updating the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to provide law enforcement with updated powers and capabilities. The creation and sharing of harmful violent material online will be criminalised.
• The Government will re-introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which expands the remit of existing regulations to better regulate the cyber security of services in critical industries and their supply chains.

 

REFORMING THE STATE

Another key theme throughout the King’s Speech was further “reform” of public services and the state.

Regulatory reform

• The Competition Reform Bill will reform the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to give the CMA Board a role in decisions on merges and market investigations, rather than decisions being led by an independent CMA panel. Market reviews will also be reformed to take no longer than 18 to 24 months in most cases.
• The Regulating for Growth Bill will strengthen the Growth Duty, giving regulators a clear statutory mandate to prioritise economic growth (without undermining their core functions). It will also create cross-economy “sandboxing powers” to create regulatory sandboxes for businesses to test innovative products and technologies.
• The Enhancing Financial Services Bill contains a range of reforms to the UK’s financial regulatory regime. These include reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service, consolidating the Payment Systems Regulator into the FCA, and reducing the scope of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.
• The Clean Water Bill will set up a new water regulator combining the regulatory functions of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England.

Public services

• The NHS Modernisation Bill will legislate to enable the NHS to build the Single Patient Record, bringing together health and social care records in one place. NHS England will also be abolished, with its functions transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care. The Bill also includes a range of other reforms.
• The Railways and Passenger Benefits Bill will establish Great British Rail, which will consolidate 14 existing operator websites into a single online platform to simplify fares and tickets.
• The Digital Access to Services Bill will introduce a new Digital ID, created and issued by UK Government for people to use to simplify access to public services.
• The Courts Modernisation Bill will reform the criminal justice system, introducing new modes of trial by judge alone to reduce the number of jury trials to only the most serious cases.

Housing and social housing

• The Social Housing Renewal Bill includes measures to protect existing social housing stock and incentivise the building of more social homes.
• The Remediation Bill will introduce a new legal duty for those responsible for the safety of their buildings, such as freeholders, to remediate; mandate how certain remediation assessments are carried out; and implement a remediation backstop. This backstop could see works carried out by Homes England and accompanied by tough sanctions and cost recovery imposed on the responsible party.
• The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill will introduce a ban on the use of leasehold for new flats, and create a new legal framework for commonhold ownership.

 

THE UK TRADE AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS TEAM

Led by partner and former senior civil servant Paul Hardy, DLA Piper’s UK Government Affairs team supports companies to take a proactive approach to addressing the risks and opportunities arising from legislative, political and policy change.

Our clients also benefit from the insights and understanding of our Strategic Consultants – Lord David Blunkett, Lord Gavin Barwell and Lord David Cameron.

Please contact the authors below for more information on how we can support you to navigate political change in the coming Parliamentary session.