K-Speech

In the words of Private Eye, this week a man in a hat gave a speech. The state opening of Parliament must be one of the most antiquated and tone deaf events in this country’s calendar of rituals. I hope they cleared the homeless tents away to let the gilded coach pass by.

That aside, it is an important event. The speech lays out the government’s agenda for the following year. It’s a time to get a flavour of what it is thinking, the way those in charge see the country going and what they intend to do about the pressing issues that are facing the country.

At least that is what you would hope for. Instead the speech was underwhelming, with very little substance and very few plans to address real issues that the public face on a daily basis. Anyway, here are some of the highlights:

The bizarre:

• I’ve written before on the  Criminal Justice Bill that will introduce measures to force criminals to appear in the dock. I just can’t see this working.
• The Victims and Prisoners Bill would prevent certain prisoners from marrying. Why? Isn’t going to jail the punishment?
• A Pedicabs (London) Bill will give Transport for London new powers to regulate pedal-powered taxi cabs in the capital. Ok, but a little left field.
• A regulator for the top five tiers of English professional football will be established by the Football Governance Bill. Unexpected and I can’t see this making any difference. Perhaps the Government should try to sort out VAR instead.

The unnecessary:

• Licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea to be awarded annually, under the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. How is this compatible with Net Zero?
• The existing Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will replace the data protection regime the UK inherited from the EU.
• The Media Bill will scrap a never-enacted rule forcing media companies to pay the legal bills of people who sue them, even if they win. How did this ever become law?

The useful ones:

• The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill will force UK venues to draw up anti-terror plans
• The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver a long-promised ban on “no-fault” evictions in England
• A Tobacco and Vapes Bill will deliver plans for a phased ban on smoking, though I can’t see how this will work without a nation ID card. How else will someone prove they are 28 and not 27?

Finally, the one that intrigued me most is:

• Public bodies will be banned from boycotting Israel under the Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill. With everything going on the world, why just Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or the Occupied Golan Heights? Amusingly, this change in law references section 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998.

There’s not a huge amount here. You might think that the Government has other things on its mind. A general election perhaps?