King’s Speech – live: Keir Starmer set to unveil mandatory housing targets and railway reform among 35 bills

King Charles III will officially open the new session of parliament today donning his ceremonial robes and the crown of state to deliver a speech laying out the legislative program of the new Labour government.

• 11.20am – The King is expected to arrive at parliament.

• 11.30am – He will head through the House of Lords and take up his throne.

What can we expect from the King’s Speech?

• King Charles is expected to unveil around 35 draft bills including a national housebuilding programme, a law to nationalise the railways and a new workers’ rights bill. 

• Before his speech, the monarch will summon parliament and the Black Rod will go to knock on the Common’s door.

• As part of the tradition, the door will be slammed in their face to demonstrate the Parliament’s sovereignty and MPs will head to the Lords to watch the King deliver the speech.

• The King will then leave the chamber and parliament will start to debate the announced policies in a process which could until next week.

The King’s Speech is set to begin at 11.30am and the State Opening of Parliament will be starting in a few minutes.

The ceremony begins with the King’s bodyguards, known as the Yeomen of the Guard, carrying out the traditional search for explosives at the underground cellars of the Palace of Westminster.

The peculiar tradition is a nod to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 when a group of English Catholics attempted to blow up Protestant King James I and the parliament.

Peers will assemble in the House of Lords in the morning and it is one of the few occasions on which they can wear their traditional scarlet robes.

Dignitaries, including ambassadors, also take their seats and peers mix with guests, who can include members of the royal family.

Outside, a royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Parliament takes place as members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment escort the King.

As part of the procession, it is usual to see the Imperial State Crown and other important items travel in carriages to Parliament. Officials with titles such as Gold Stick are also involved.

The King will arrive at the Sovereign’s Entrance to Parliament and he tends to be received by the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal.

He will eventually proceed to the Robing Room where he usually dons the ceremonial robes and the Imperial State Crown.

Meanwhile, it is a slightly more toned down affair in the House of Commons as MPs gather ahead of meeting at 11.25am for the King’s Speech.

King Charles III will officially open the new session of Parliament on Wednesday, donning his ceremonial robes and the crown of state to deliver a speech laying out the legislative program of the UK’s first left-leaning government in 14 years.

The state opening of Parliament is one of the traditional set pieces of the political year, showcasing through carefully choreographed pageantry Britain’s evolution from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy where real power is vested in the elected House of Commons.

Here’s a brief look at the history of the King’s Speech and how it unfolds.

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Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden admitted Labour’s planning reforms “may be controversial in some places” but said the party is “on the side of getting things built more quickly”.

Ahead of the King’s Speech, Mr McFadden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.

“That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.

“But it’s reasonable for people to expect that, if we said that during the campaign, it’s what they see when the King’s Speech is published later today.”

The Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East added: “It’s a big decision for the country.

“If we do nothing on this, we will continue with a situation where there’s a whole generation of young people for whom the aspiration of owning their own home, or sometimes even renting one at a reasonable price, will continue to be unrealisable.”

Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics that inflation remains at Bank of England’s target rate.

The shadow chancellor said the figures are a result of economic policies delivered by the Conservatives while in government and urged Labour not to halt the progress.

The MP for Godalming and Ash said: “Labour have inherited inflation at the Bank of England’s target at 2 per cent, the fastest growing economy in the G7, and unemployment near record lows at 4.4 per cent.

“The Labour Government must not reverse that progress with a suite of unannounced tax rises or increased business regulation that will stifle the economy.”

Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden claimed the nation’s railways are “too fragmented” and don’t “work well enough”.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has promised that Labour will deliver his pledge to nationalise railways and simplify the ticket system.

Mr McFadden told Sky News: “We do have clear views on that and we think over time it is time to bring the railways back into public ownership, to integrate the service more, to have simpler ticketing and we said that before the election and my colleague Lou Haigh is leading plans on that.

“At the moment it is too fragmented, it doesn’t work well enough and it is often not the best value for money.”

If the plans go ahead, Sir Keir Starmer would create a new public body to inherit rail contracts once they expire and take control of the services.

Asked how long the process would take, he said: “I think we will get on with some of this quite quickly but it depends how long the franchise lasts, so it is as the franchises come to [an end].”

However, Mr McFadden ruled out nationalising water companies promising to “make their leadership a bit more responsible”.

The State Opening of Parliament involves a lot of pomp and centenary ceremonies – including a tradition dating back to the 17th century of taking a person hostage.

A chosen MP will ceremonially be taken hostage in Buckingham Palace while the monarch attends Parliament. This is designed to ensure the King’s safe return from Parliament.

Traditionally a Government whip known as the vice-chamberlain of the household performs this task and this position is currently held by Labour’s Samantha Dixon.

Shadow House of Commons leader Chris Philp told Times Radio that the government’s plans to find what it calls “grey belt” land to build on is “grey belt”

The Conservative MP said: “Obviously we accept and agree that more houses need to be built, but they need to be built in the right places.

“For example, in my view, they should be built on brownfield sites in city centres, those kinds of places first looking at maybe new towns, but what we should not be doing is ripping up the green belt.”

He said housing should be built on brownfield sites and by building high in town and city centres – for example in Canary Wharf or the Greenwich Peninsula in London.

He said: “They are talking about huge chunks of the green belt, not the odd car park. You can’t just suddenly claim that a whole load of green belt is now called the grey belt and it’s okay to build on it. I mean, that’s just obviously a piece of nonsensical and shameless spin.”