SIR Keir Starmer unveiled his vision for Britain today as MPs and peers packed into the grand House of Lords to hear the King’s Speech.
At the state opening of Parliament, King Charles outlined the main laws the Prime Minister hopes to deliver in the next 12 months.
From pensions and employment rights and housing, the proposals outlined today can sound a bit confusing.
It can be difficult to know what these policies would mean for your money in reality.
Here, we outline each of Labour’s pledges and explain how they would impact your finances over the next year.
HOUSING
One of the big cost of living burdens over the past few years has been the increased cost of housing.
Mortgage rates have risen significantly meaning homeowners have to pay far more each month, while rental costs have also risen.
The new government is set to introduce a new Planning and Infrastructure Bill in order to “accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing”.
The Bill will seek to improve the planning system at a local level by making planning systems more efficient.
At the moment, only 9% of local planning authorities (LPAs) are determining applications within eight weeks.
It is hoped that this reform will accelerate house building.
In a blow to first-time buyers, the mortgage guarantee scheme was not mentioned in the King’s Speech.
The scheme would see the government act as a guarantor for people unable to save for large house deposits.
It’s important to note, however, that just because it hasn’t been mentioned in the scheme, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen at a later date.
The government has also pledged to better protect leaseholders, who don’t own the land they live on and can be stung with sky-high service charges and ground rent.
The government has said it will bring an end to the “feudal” leasehold system and “take further steps” to ban the construction of new leasehold flats.
It also said the party would tackle unregulated and “unaffordable” ground rent charges as well as “unfair” maintenance costs.
RENTERS
The government is set to introduce a Renters’ Rights Bill.
This legislation will be introduced to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes.
The government is set to end Section 21 no-fault evictions.
Landlords can issue a Section 21 notice – known as a no-fault eviction – without any reason, leaving tenants just eight weeks to find a new home
Banning these notices will “give renters much greater security and stability”, the Government said.
The Bill will also give tenants greater rights and protections, such as the ability to challenge rent increases and the right to request a pet.
Rental homes will also need to reach a decent standard to ensure homes are safe, secure and hazard free.
It will also become illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants who receive benefits or with children when letting our their property.
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
The Government has said it plans to bring in an Employment Rights Bill in its first 100 days in office.
It will include a ban on zero-hour contracts, end “fire and rehire”, better access to flexible working and strengthening statutory sick pay.
Plus, a new genuine living wage that accounts for the cost of living and removes “discriminatory” age bands will also be introduced.
This would mean that all adults are entitled to the same pay and a pay rise for workers across the UK.
There are two different minimum rates all workers are supposed to get across the UK – the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage.
The National Minimum Wage is the amount workers under 23 – but of school-leaving age – are entitled to. While everyone aged 23 and over gets the National Living Wage.
Under the current system, exactly how much you get depends on how old you are.
Labour’s plans would mean that everyone gets the same, no matter their age.
The government has also said it will remove restrictions on trade union activity,
This could pave the way for more strike action in the future.
The government is also set to introduce the Skills England Bill, which will ensure the country has a highly trained workforce by working closely with businesses and unions.
CHILDCARE
In the proposed Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the Government has said that it will become compulsory to have free breakfast clubs in every primary school.
It said this will ensure that every child, no matter their personal circumstances, is ready to learn and “achieve their full potential”.
The legislation will also limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kits children need, in the hope that this will bring down costs for parents.
PENSIONS
The government will introduce a new Pension Schemes Bill which will aim to improve outcomes for savers in retirement.
The Bill will include a raft of new measures to help over 15 million pension savers to get better outcomes in retirement, according to a document published today.
The aim is to ensure the average earner has over £11,000 more in their pension pot by the time they retire.
It comes as data suggests millions of savers are not putting enough money aside for later life.
The government said it will aim to prevent people from losing track of their pension pots by consolidating “small pots” automatically.
Plus, one of the more radical plans in the new Bill is the proposal that pension schemes must offer retirement products to savers.
The intention is that by offering products to savers will keep them invested for longer rather, meaning their pension pot will continue to grow.
How does the state pension work?
AT the moment the current state pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 – but it’s due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY
The Prime Minister has proposed introducing a Budget Responsibility Bill to protect taxpayers’ cash.
The Bill will make sure that any “significant and permanent” tax and spending changes will be subject to independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
It is hoped that the Bill will prevent economic repercussions like those experienced after former Prime Minister Lizz Truss‘ mini-budget in September 2022.
In today’s King Speech, the government said the Bill well prevent uncosted measures from being announced with “sufficient scrutiny”.
PRODUCT SAFETY
Many of us are already familiar with product recalls and safety notices which protect customers from dangerous goods.
Sir Keir has pledged to go a step further by introducing a Product Safety and Metrology Bill.
The proposed Bill will aim to protect consumers against risks associated with new technology like AI and new products like e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries, used in things like vapes, laptops and smartphones.
Plus, there will be special attention paid to new businesses, like online marketplaces, so that customers know exactly where the products they buy are coming from.
It comes after an investigation revealed that toxic materials were present in kids clothes on Chinese online marketplace Temu.
GREAT BRITISH ENERGY
Labour has pledged to establish a brand-new publicly owned company, Great British Energy to help improve the UK’s long-term energy security.
The Government has said that the move should lower bills for families by managing and operating our own clean power projects.
WATER
The government is set to strengthen the regulation on water companies and begin work cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas through the Water (Special Measures) Bill.
It said water companies are “failing to deliver” for their customers and could face whopping fines as a result.
Water bills in England and Wales are expected to increase by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030, regulator Ofwat said.
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