Comment
THE SUN SAYS
There is no doubting our new Government’s energy and ambition with Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech
We applaud much of Keir Starmer's first King's Speech - but some of his plans trouble us more
Let’s hope all this works, Keir
THERE is no doubting our new Government’s energy and ambition.
Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech was packed with measures aimed at bringing about the change he was elected for.
2
2
And much of it we applaud.
Speeding up and recalibrating the planning system in favour of green-lighting development instead of finding NIMBY excuses to stifle it is a long-overdue breath of fresh air.
While it’s not quite the bulldozing of all those archaic restrictions we were hoping for in order to turbo-charge building and growth, it’s progress.
Commendable too are the new powers for Ofwat to hammer the failing water giants, including banning bonuses for useless, greedy executives and holding them personally criminally liable for violating the environment.
On crime, we particularly welcome more cops on the beat and a new law compelling offenders to turn up to their sentencing in court.
For far too long they have been allowed to sit it out, in a final insult to their victims.
Labour’s new Forces Commissioner should prove great news for troops and their families.
We like too the unflinching support for Ukraine and for Israel despite siren voices on the party’s Left.
Most read in The Sun
More powers for unions
We’re all for more rights for renters — except for the risk of driving landlords out of the market, further reducing the available properties and raising costs ever higher.
Rail and bus services back in public hands in sweeping renationalisation plan
And if Labour is serious about strengthening our borders, hurrah . . . though only time will tell if it will stop the small boats, with the deterrent axed.
Some of Keir’s plans trouble us more.
How are new powers for unions to stage crippling strikes more easily — and for workers to demand flexible hours and conditions from Day One — remotely compatible with growth?
The same goes for the constitutional reforms certain to bind Britain hand and foot in a new layer of quangos and red tape.
Not to mention handing Office for Budget Responsibility penpushers a veto on politicians’ fiscal plans.
The nanny-state bans on food ads and certain drinks will achieve nothing but higher shopping bills for families.
Meanwhile we fear Ed Miliband’s Great British Energy has “dud” written all over it.
And the renationalisation of the railways, while popular with the public, may well prove a triumph of hope over experience, given the third-rate shambles that was British Rail.
The speech had one notable omission.
We expected sweeping reform of the NHS to make it work better for patients. We got tweaks. We trust more is coming.
Because this Government will not be judged on what it promised yesterday but on what it delivers on the NHS, on growth and on securing our borders.
Read More on The US Sun
It was a good start, though.
Let’s see if it bears fruit.