Wednesday marked a significant moment for Sir Keir Starmer, as he began formally setting out his top policies for legislation during this new Labour government.

As scheduled, the King took to his throne in the House of Lords at precisely 11:30 am, after which Black Rod summoned the MPs from the House of Commons. Once everyone was seated, the King began his speech, outlining Labour’s 40 new legislative bills for the upcoming year.

One thing is for sure, Labour’s first King’s Speech in 14 years sparked mixed reactions.

For many, the content of speech underscored the exact reason why they voted for Starmer, showcasing a safe and steady pair of hands.  Everything in the speech had already been published in his election manifesto or promised along the campaign trail.

A few examples; he promised to ban zero-hours contracts, which he did with the Employment Rights Bill. He promised to ban smoking, and lo and behold, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was announced. And he promised to add in legislation to stop the repeat of Liz Truss’s notorious mini-budget by introducing an independent assessment by the OBR, introduced with the Budget Responsibility Bill. That one came with the added bonus to Starmer of the furious Truss firing off angry letters to the boss of the civil service Simon Case, keeping her name in headlines an extra day.

A nationalisation of the railways? A launch of a nationalised energy company? Devolution? Hereditary peers in the House of Lords removed? A transformation of workers rights? All legislation signifying significant changes in some important areas of policy, all telegraphed in advance.

Depending on your tastes, it’s either quietly radical or a bit dull as Starmer sets out deliver what he promised but not much more.

The big question is how Starmer tackles what’s next: the hard graft of government. As TWFW goes to pixel, a global outage of IT systems is causing chaos across the country amid calls for the PM to convene his first COBRA crisis committee. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been in Downing Street demanding the right to fire British missiles deep into Russian territory for the first time, despite fears it would escalate the war.

On Wednesday, Starmer will take his first session of PMQs, facing off against a revitalised Rishi Sunak who looks a new man now the weight of the world is off his shoulders.

Unlike the campaign and these choreographed first days in power, Starmer’s plans are already running into the inevitable unknown unknowns.

(Photo via PA Media)