The King's Speech 2023: what Charles' first speech as monarch include - and what Nationalworld's specialists want addressed

King Charles will make his first speech as monarch on Tuesday 7 November 2023. Known as the King's Speech, this will be part of the State Opening of Parliament and will mark the King's first speech as the British monarch, although he has previously given the speech on behalf of his mother, the Queen, in 2022. 

The speech provides the government with an opportunity to outline its legislative priorities for the months ahead and marks the start of the parliamentary year. It will also allow the government to "carry over" some bills from the previous session that were not passed into law. 

As the speech is written by the government, the King will have to announce measures, proposed laws and other announcements in a neutral tone to avoid any appearance of political support. It is thought the speech will include: 

• making it harder for councils to introduce 20mph zones
• forcing criminals to attend sentencing hearings
• mandatory jail terms for shoplifting and some other offences
• raising the legal age for buying cigarettes in England by one year every year to phase out smoking.
• to phase out leaseholds in England and Wales with all new houses in England and Wales having to be sold as freehold properties
• awarding new oil and gas licenses which will disrupt existing net zero polices 
• establish a new regulator for English football in February, following a consultation

Nationalworld's specialists have outlined what they would like to see addressed in the King's Speech: 

Social Media

Social media specialist Rochelle Barrand says: "Parents and carers have continually expressed worries about the kinds of content their children could be exposed to on social media, especially after high profile cases where the death of a child was linked to their online activity. It is absolutely right that the Online Safety Bill was passed in the UK to protect children and adults alike online. But the bill only goes so far. I think the age limit on social media needs to be increased to 18 to protect young people from harmful content but also addiction. When we think of legal addictive substances, we tend to think of alcohol and nicotine. 

"Both of these things are age restricted to 18-year-olds and that's because adults have the emotional maturity to decide how much of these things they are going to consume and consider the impact this will have on their health. There are centres around the world which treat technology addiction which proves this is a prevalent issue. I accept that right now, however, anyone aged 13 or over in the UK can sign up for a profile on the biggest social media platforms; TikTok, Facebook, X and Instagram. Anecdotally, I think we all know children under 13 have accounts. Kids who are desperate to join up simply have to add a few years on to their actual birthdate. It’s a couple of clicks or scrolls of a mouse and they’re in. There aren’t any proper checks and it's far too easy.

"More rigorous age checks need to be in place on social media. Perhaps we do need some form of officially recognised photo ID for every child aged 13 or over so that this can be used to verify their age online or all kids' accounts need to be linked to an adult's account."

Health

Health specialist David George says: "While attentions are zeroed in on the future of leaseholds and regulations on English football, there are concerns around the absence of many health-related changes coming through.

"Once again, a ban on conversion therapy is nowhere to be seen. To this day, sexual orientations and genders are subjected to "therapy" - and the government announced this would change in 2018. But five years on, nothing has happened, much to the frustration of the LGBTQ+ community. It could be a good move if Sunak wishes to get LGBT Brits on his side for the general election.

"We also appear to be getting no word on support for the NHS. The UK's health service is on its knees at the moment, rife with staff shortages and an abundance of strike dates as those who are left stand toe-to-toe against the government over poor pay and working conditions. A recruitment drive for the NHS might alleviate staffing problems, but would take years for them to be trained and integrated into hospitals.

"One NationalWorld source close to NHS suppliers suggested that the government would need an "inconceivable" amount of money to fix all the NHS troubles that lie behind the scenes, from pay discrepancies to a lack of supplies and equipment.

"The government consultation on disposable vapes may have put the subject out of mind for the King's Speech, but it's worth noting that youth vaping is still a major problem, with multiple reports from charities such as Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).

"That being said, the inclusion of the phased ban on smoking is surely a welcomed positive. King Charles is expected to announce that the government will bring in a smoking ban where the minimum age limit is increased by one each year, bringing a generational end to smoking in the UK."

Environment 

Environment specialist Amber Allott wants to see: 

Lock in an end to new oil and gas exploration licences

One of the potential bills being bandied about for the King’s Speech is a proposed government policy which would "lock in" oil and gas exploration licensing rounds each year for future governments. Other media have reported this could be a political trap for Labour, which plans to block new domestic fossil fuel exploration licences if it comes into power in the next general election. While there have been suggestions future rounds would include a ‘net zero test’ experts are so far unconvinced.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced at least a hundred of these new licences would be approved in a bid to improve the UK’s energy independence. Twenty-seven were granted just a week ago - even as critics said they were "pouring new fuel on the fire" as the country battles to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The government has maintained that it remains committed to that target, but that some oil and gas is still going to be needed as Britain transitions to cleaner energy sources. In a dream King’s Speech, I’d like to see the government stop playing political games with that work to protect the UK from some of the very worst impacts of climate change, and lock in a date after which no new domestic oil and gas exploration licences would be granted - to really commit to the transition to cleaner energy.

Ratify the global oceans treaty

In September, the UK became one of the first governments to sign the high seas treaty at the United Nations General Assembly, on the very first day it opened for signatures. But despite receiving more than the 60 signatures necessary, the countries each need to ratify the treaty - which will give governments new powers to establish marine sanctuaries - into law for it to become legally binding.

As Greenpeace, a fierce advocate for the treaty, says, our oceans and marine life are facing a barrage of mounting threats - from marine heatwaves and warming seas, to plastic pollution, to damaging fishing practices like bottom trawling. I’d like to see the government defy reports it won’t take action on the treaty until after the next election by announcing the steps it plans to take to better protect the seas immediately - including using its influence to help protect the ecologically significant Sargasso Sea.

Make reintroducing native species a priority

Defra recently said that species reintroduction was not a priority of the current government, and the Wildlife Trusts have listed a pledge by Boris Johnson to ‘Build Back Beaver’ as one of its many broken promises to wildlife. At the same time, the UK is oft cited as one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, with this year’s State of Nature report finding one in six of its species is at imminent risk of extinction.

While the government has said it “aims to reach its biodiversity targets through other methods including habitat restoration and biodiversity corridors”, an announcement that it would increase its funding for projects which would bring back species that are either on the brink or have disappeared from their traditional homelands (almost all due to human activity) would be the icing on the cake. Especially ecosystem architects like beavers - which can create entire thriving wetland environments in their wake."