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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised a package of measures to set a ‘new direction for Britain’ as he battled to save his premiership. The prime minister said the legislation in the King’s Speech would make the country ‘stronger and fairer’ and help deliver the ‘change we promised’ in Labour’s 2024 general election landslide. In his speech in the House of Lords, the King said the government would ‘defend the British values of decency, tolerance and respect for difference under our common flag’. Charles said the government would ‘harness the potential of the pride felt across the country for its communities’ and ‘take urgent action to tackle antisemitism’. In his introduction to the package of legislation set out by the King in the traditional state opening of Parliament ceremony, Starmer said the country was ‘at a pivotal moment’ as it dealt with the fallout from wars in Iran and Ukraine. But he said: ‘The fundamentals of our economy remain sound and this will help us emerge from the Iran conflict stronger and fairer.’ The war in the Middle East required ‘greater urgency’ in the reforms the government has promised, Sir Keir said. ‘We will strengthen our economic security, energy security, our defence and national security,’ the prime minister said. ‘We will unblock the barriers to growth and prepare our country for a world where external shocks like this are ever more frequent. ‘And we will fight for every child to have the chance to go as far as their talent and effort will take them.’ The prime minister wants to forge closer ties with the EU, with a major summit planned this summer and progress expected on a youth experience scheme for under-30s. Starmer said he would be ‘setting a new direction for Britain at the next EU summit’ and ‘putting Britain at the heart of Europe’. The government could fast-track EU rules into law without giving MPs a vote under legislation brought forward in the King’s Speech. Ministers have been attempting to forge closer ties with the continental trade bloc since coming to power in 2024, and have set the stage for a series of co-operation deals this summer. Britain and Europe hope to agree a new alignment on food, on energy emissions, and on youth mobility when negotiators gather in Brussels for the second annual UK-EU summit. Measures in the King’s Speech include a new law to strip disgraced peers like Peter Mandelson of their titles. Measures outlined could lead to the banning of state-linked groups like Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The speech confirmed Labour plans to lower the voting age to 16 and the legislation for the new digital ID scheme. There was also a package of laws to ease the burden of regulation and make it faster to build new energy infrastructure. The government has been under pressure to ban the IRGC but has claimed existing legislation does not allow this. The new tackling state threats bill is intended to close this loophole, giving powers similar to those used to proscribe terrorist organisations. Starmer said: ‘We will take on extremism where it appears, including where it is sponsored by foreign powers that are hostile to the UK, such as Iran.’ The King’s Speech comes with Starmer’s position in peril following a wave of backbench MPs calling for him to go and a handful of ministerial resignations in the wake of a devastating set of election results for Labour in English councils, Wales and Scotland. The prime minister has insisted he will not leave office and has effectively called on potential rivals to challenge him under the party’s rules, which require a contender to have the backing of 81 MPs. Ahead of the King’s Speech, Starmer had a brief meeting with one of his potential challengers, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, in Downing Street. By David Hughes, Press Association Political Editor source: PA Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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