The Kings Speech 2026 outlined 37 bills ministers want to take forward in the next parliamentary session, including eight that have already been introduced to Parliament.

Economy and business

• The Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill will give ministers new powers to fully nationalise British Steel, subject to a public interest test.
• A European Partnership Bill contains controversial new powers to fast-track legislation needed to implement a series of planned agreements with the EU.
• A Regulating for Growth Bill will allow pilot schemes to boost innovation in areas such as defence technology and AI-controlled ships.
• A Competition Reform Bill will aim to speed up reviews by the competition regulator, while the Enhancing Financial Services Bill will seek to reduce compliance burdens on the financial services sector.
• A Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill will increase penalty interest for companies that fail to pay suppliers on time.

Housing

• A Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill will ban the use of leasehold for new flats in England and Wales, and cap ground rents at £250 per year.
• A Social Housing Renewal Bill would exempt newly built social homes in England from Right to Buy for 35 years and introduce new protections allowing social tenants who are victims of domestic abuse to remain in their homes.
• A new Remediation Bill would give ministers powers to make construction product manufacturers contribute towards the removal of unsafe cladding.

Transport

• A Railways and Passenger Benefits Bill will create a new watchdog to enforce passenger rights and consolidate the 14 existing operator websites.
• A draft Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Bill will introduce a national database of all licensed taxis and private hire vehicles, in a bid to improve passenger safety.
• The financing model used to fund nuclear projects will be extended to new road schemes in England through the Highways (Financing) Bill.
• The Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill, a renamed version of an earlier HS2 bill, will set out a proposed new rail route from Manchester to Millington via Manchester Airport.
• A Civil Aviation Bill will create new powers over airport take-off and landing slots, in a bid to support airport expansion.

Crime and policing

• A wide-ranging Police Reform Bill will implement plans to create new, larger forces in England and Wales, and establish a new national force to investigate the “most serious crime”.
• Controversial plans to scale back the use of jury trials in England and Wales are included in a Courts Modernisation Bill.

Immigration

• The Immigration and Asylum Bill will make it easier to revoke refugee status and restrict taxpayer support for asylum seekers.

Health

• An NHS Modernisation Bill will abolish the arm’s-length body that runs NHS England, pave the way for patient records to be viewed on the NHS App, and require “mayoral nominees” to sit on local health boards.
• A draft Conversion Practices Bill, announced in Labour’s first King’s speech, would deliver a promised ban on practices intended to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Energy and the environment

• An Energy Independence Bill will introduce new energy efficiency requirements for rented homes and give ministers new powers to target energy bill support at “low-income and vulnerable households”.
• The tax charged on the “excess profits” made by electricity generation companies will be increased under an Electricity Generator Levy Bill.
• Ministers say the process for approving new nuclear energy projects will be streamlined through a Nuclear Regulation Bill.
• The Clean Water Bill will merge the functions of several existing regulators, including Ofwat, in a bid to end the “fragmented oversight” of the privatised water sector.

Security

• A Tackling State Threats Bill contains new powers to ban state-linked groups such as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
• The Armed Forces Bill, introduced earlier this year, contains new powers designed to make it easier to mobilise former armed forces personnel in preparation for war.
• In the wake of the 2024 Southport attack, a new National Security Bill will criminalise the sharing of material that “glorifies, trivialises, or normalises” serious violence.
• The government’s much-amended Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which would create a new commission to investigate Troubles-related killings, also featured.

Digital and technology

• Powers to deliver a new voluntary digital ID scheme for access to public services are contained in a Digital Access to Services Bill.
• A Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will bring data centres within the scope of the UK’s cyber security reporting regime.

Governance

• Plans to restrict foreign political donations and lower the voting age to 16 are contained in a Representation of the People Bill announced earlier this year.
• The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, is an existing bill that would create a new duty of candour for public officials.
• New powers to remove peerages from members of the House of Lords are contained in a new Removal of Peerages Bill.
• A Sovereign Grant Bill will allow government funding for the monarch’s official duties to be reduced once the renovation of Buckingham Palace ends next year.

Other measures

• Plans to overhaul special needs provision in England’s schools are contained in a new Education for All Bill.
• A draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill will cap service fees charged by resale platforms and make it illegal to resell tickets for live events above face value.
• The Sporting Events Bill contains a raft of powers to support delivery of the Euro 2028 men’s football tournament.
• An Overnight Visitor Levy Bill will give local mayors in England powers to levy “tourist taxes” on overnight stays, bringing them into line with local leaders in Wales and Scotland.

What was not in the speech?

• Despite all the ongoing hype around AI in Parliament, there was nothing in this year’s Kings Speech specifically focused on it.
• Legislation to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been shelved following opposition from US President Donald Trump.
• A bill to reform welfare did not feature, although the King said ministers would “respond” to a review of the system led by Social Security Minister Stephen Timms, which is due in the autumn.
• A private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales ran out of time in the previous session amid opposition in the Lords. The government has not allocated time for a new bill, although supporters may hope to bring one back.

Barndoor Strategy clients have already received detailed analysis of what is expected to appear in all relevant Bills, and we are monitoring closely for further developments as the new parliamentary session gets properly underway next week.