The King’s Speech 2026: government pledges and promises to keep an eye on
Ahead of today’s State Opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech, in which the government will set out its legislative agenda and policy priorities for the next session of Parliament, we’ve taken a look at some pledges you should keep an eye out for.
The King’s Speech on 13 May is the second of the current Labour government, after the 2024-26 parliamentary session came to an end with the prorogation of Parliament on 29 April. It comes nearly two years after Labour’s first.
Proceedings are expected to begin at around 10:30am, and can be followed on parliamentlive.tv as well as outlets such as BBC Parliament.
Since November 2024, Full Fact’s Government Tracker has been monitoring the government’s progress on a range of promises it made in its election manifesto as well as at key moments.
We update the tracker on a rolling basis and following our recent work on the 2026 elections not every pledge is up to date, but we’re working our way through it. Every pledge mentioned in this article has been updated with the latest developments.
There are a number of pledges we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on during the King’s Speech, as well as some developments we’re expecting in the coming session of parliament.
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We’re waiting for legislation on…
- The Energy Independence Act. This was promised in the 2024 King’s Speech, but has not yet been introduced to Parliament. In its 2024 election manifesto, Labour said: “A new Energy Independence Act will establish the framework for Labour’s energy and climate policies”.
- The Draft Conversion Practices Bill. In its manifesto, Labour promised it would “finally deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices.” A commitment to bring forward a draft bill to ban conversion practices was also included in the previous King’s Speech, but the legislation has not yet materialised. The government has previously said it had met with “numerous stakeholders representing a wide range of views”. On the final day of the previous parliamentary session, the equalities minister said the government “firmly intend[s]” to publish legislation “soon”.
- The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. Again, this bill was named in the 2024 King’s Speech but was not introduced to Parliament during the 2024-26 session. Labour’s manifesto promised a “landmark Race Equality Act” that would include the right to equal pay and “strengthen protections against dual discrimination”. It appears the Act named in the manifesto has been renamed, as the government has since said these commitments, as well as others, will be included in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
- New consumer protections on ticket resales. Labour’s manifesto promised new protections to combat so-called ‘ticket touts’. No new legislation has yet been introduced, but last year the government consulted on the resale of live event tickets and said it “intends to bring forward” reforms such as a price cap “that makes it unlawful to resell live event tickets for a profit”.
- A participation requirement for the House of Lords and a mandatory retirement age for members. A select committee is considering and making recommendations on some of Labour’s proposals for House of Lords reform and is due to report by 31 July 2026—one of Labour’s promises on reform has already been achieved as the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords ceased at the end of the 2024-26 parliamentary session.
- Changes to the Gender Recognition Act. The government has said it remains committed to its manifesto promise to “modernise, simplify and reform” gender recognition law “to a new process”, but we’re still awaiting legislation and further details on what this will entail.
Carried-over legislation…
At the end of one parliamentary session, a carry-over motion can be introduced so that bills can continue progress once the new session begins. Without this, the bill fails. As the parliament proceeds, we’ll be watching for updates on, among others, the following bills that were introduced in the 2024-26 session and promised in Labour’s manifesto:
- Lowering the voting age to 16. Labour promised to lower the voting age to 16 for all UK elections where it is still 18, such as general elections and local elections in England. The Representation of the People Bill was introduced to the Commons in February 2026, but has not yet progressed to the House of Lords. It has already been debated; this debate has so far included this promise as well as a variety of suggestions around how we maintain the integrity of our elections in this age of AI and an increased threat of coordinated information campaigns targeting our democracy.
- Expanding voter ID. The government has already made some headway with this pledge—Armed Forces Veteran Cards, for example, were added to the accepted list of voter ID ahead of the 2025 local elections. The Representation of the People Bill, if passed, will legislate to include bank cards in this list as well.
- The Hillsborough Law. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, which would introduce a legal duty of candour on public servants and establish the right to legal aid for the families of victims of disasters or state-related deaths, was introduced to Parliament in September 2025. It’s also known as the Hillsborough Law, after the football stadium disaster of April 1989. While the government missed its commitment to introduce the law before the 36th anniversary of the tragedy, a carry-over motion will allow the bill to be picked back up in the coming parliamentary session, though progress has been stalled for the last few months over criticism of now-withdrawn amendments proposed by the government.
And some updates you may have missed…
At the end of parliamentary sessions, a flurry of legislation can pass into law to avoid various bills failing once Parliament is prorogued. As several laws gained Royal Assent at the end of the 2024-26 session, we’re now rating the following promises as ‘achieved’:
- “Labour will ensure the next generation can never legally buy cigarettes”.
The Tobacco and Vapes Act passed into law on 29 April 2026, meaning that the ban on the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009 will come into force on 1 January 2027, when those in question begin to turn 18. - “Labour will … create a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers that will protect them from threats and violence”
A new offence of assault on retail workers who are at work is included in the Crime and Policing Act, which was also given Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. - “Labour will scrap the effective immunity for some shoplifting”
The Crime and Policing Act repeals the summary offence of “low-value shoplifting”, meaning all shoplifting crimes can be tried as general theft, irrespective of the value of goods taken. This can carry a maximum punishment of seven years’ imprisonment.