Many of the policies announced in the King’s Speech have clear public support
The King’s Speech is the once-a-year opportunity for a government to clearly set out their legislative agenda. For their first State Opening of Parliament in 15 years, fresh from their landslide election win, Labour have wasted no space, packing Starmer’s debut King’s Speech with a twice-than-average number of bills.
Ultimately, the public verdict of these policies will rest on their implementation and whether they tackle the most important issues facing the country – which Britons currently believe are the economy (53%), health (46%) and immigration and asylum (41%).
But, for now, the government will be reassured by the positive immediate public reception to many of the policies announced in the King’s Speech. Of the 15 we polled, all bar one – establishing an independent football regulator – are seen by more people as a a ‘good idea’ rather than a ‘wrong priority at the present time’, including five which are endorsed as a good idea by more than seven in ten Britons.
The most popular of the policies polled is making bosses of private water companies personally liable for any lawbreaking by their company, which is backed by 82% of the public and is overwhelmingly popular among every voter group. Establishing a Border Security Command to tackle illegal immigration smuggling gangs garners similar support, backed by 77% of Britons and opposed by only 9%.
Imposing limits on the sale and marketing of vapes, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children, and providing free breakfast clubs in all primary schools are the next most popular policies, with 71-73% of the public thinking they are good ideas. Labour’s flagship policies of creating the publicly owned power company GB Energy and bringing train operators under public ownership are also popular, nearly two-thirds of the public favouring the proposals (64-66%).
More divisive, though still more supported than opposed, are the plans to remove private schools’ VAT exemption and reform planning law to help accelerate housebuilding and infrastructure construction. Just shy of half of Britons (49% in both cases) think they are good ideas, with 34% and 29% respectively viewing them as wrong priorities.
Unsurprisingly, it is supporters of the government who are most enthusiastic about this raft of new policies, with over two-thirds (69%-91%) of 2024 Labour voters believing all but one the polled proposals were a good idea. Creating a new football regulator is the sole exception, only 28% of Labour voters supporting the policy and 53% opposing.
However, it’s not just Labour voters that these policies appeal to. For nine of the fifteen proposals polled, the majority of Conservative supporters also felt they were a good idea. On only four of the policies – removing hereditary peers, establishing an independent football regulator, removing VAT from private school fees, and reforming planning restrictions – did more Conservatives feel they were the wrong priority than supported them.
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