By Mike Forster, Socialist Alternative West Yorkshire
There were no surprises in the King’s Speech, setting out around 40 separate bills to be announced over the lifetime of Starmer’s government. The usual pomp and ceremony of gold coaches and ermine-clad lords and ladies is a million miles removed from everyone’s daily lives. The major thrust of this new Labour Government is to rely on big business to deliver ‘growth’ with a few government incentives, at a time when British capitalism has historically failed to either improve investment, productivity or wages over the last few decades. Instead the widening gap between the rich and the poor has got progressively wider and this speech will do nothing to rectify that.
Transport
Under pressure from the unions, Starmer has pledged to renationalise the rail industry, after years of decline and utter chaos, although any measures will be staggered as private franchises come up for renewal. The half-complete HS2 will remain mothballed, wasting £27 billion of government spending, which could have been put to better use in decimated public services. Councils will be given more powers to bring bus services back under their control but will still be run by private companies. Meanwhile, councils funding is in a deep crisis, to which the new Labour government has offered no proposed response. In reality, massive investment is required in the British transport infrastructure. But such investment is only possible on the basis of complete renationalisation of all networks under workers control and can only be funded by taking the wealth out of the hands of the super-rich.
Water
There was little respite for Britain’s polluted rivers and waterways in this speech. Starmer has promised a Water Special Measures Bill which gives the regulator more powers to fine and hold criminally liable water companies to account. These companies have saddled the industry with massive debt whilst shovelling millions to their shareholders. Nothing short of immediate renationalisation of these companies with no compensation to the owners will suffice. These asset strippers have to go and no amount of ‘regulation’ can bring them to heel.
Housing crisis
Much has been made of Starmer’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years but his only plan is to relax planning laws to incentivise the private sector to build more homes and to set councils compulsory targets. The house building industry prefers a shortage of houses as that keeps prices and profits high, and has no interest in decent, affordable social housing. This plan will not rectify the acute housing crisis until councils are given the resources to build a million new council homes, alongside a rent freeze in the private sector. By relying on private house builders to drag the UK out of the housing crisis, Starmer is condemning millions to endure poor housing conditions, unaffordable rents and mortgages alongside rising homelessness.
Workers’ rights
The new Workers’ Rights Bill is promising to repeal the Tories’ anti-union minimum services legislation, as well as doing away with zero-hours contracts (unless workers request them), and fire and rehire practices. Labour is also promising extra rights such as flexible working, parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. But in the run-up to the election, we saw a number of attempts to water down these policies. Their inclusion in the bill shows the pressure Starmer is under to keep the unions on-side, but this pressure must be stepped up to ensure every measure is fully implemented, and to win further gains.
‘Responsible’ spending: responsible to who?
On the economic front, Rachel Reeves has already got her excuses in early. Promising ‘fiscal responsibility’, Labour will abide by the directives of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and Bank of England. This puts the finance capitalists firmly in charge at a time when public services are on their knees: the NHS, local authorities, education, social care all urgently require massive public investment. Yet Starmer has promised nothing to rectify these acute problems, other than saying he has discovered ‘new and unexpected marks of chaos from 14 years of Tory rule’. He need only have spoken to teachers, nurses, council or care workers to have understood the impact of Tory chaos, but there is nothing in this King’s Speech to halt the decline. In fact, Starmer has already hinted at further wage restraint over the next couple of years until capitalism decides to start ‘growing’ the economy’.
Climate
On the climate, Labour has ditched its earlier commitment to a £23 billion green new deal and has instead pledged to establish Green British Energy with a budget of just £8.3 billion to begin the transition to wind and solar energy. Yet again, they are looking not just to the private sector to provide the rest of the funding, but also the Crown Estate (the royal family which owns all of our seabeds) to match fund the rest! Only state-controlled investment on a massive scale, alongside the nationalisation of the fossil fuel and energy companies, can allow for the urgent changes necessary for a green transition in the interests of working people.
Two-child benefit cap
Starmer averted his first backbench rebellion from Labour MP’s seeking to scrap the two-child benefit cap by setting up a ‘child poverty task force’. Kicking this issue into the long grass will not make this scandal go away. When the Tories imposed this disgraceful limit, it cost affected families £3,455 pa and impacted 1.6 million children. One in four children now live in absolute poverty. Scrapping the two-child limit would cost £1.7 billion, 0.14% of government spending, and immediately lift 300,000 children out of poverty. Starmer’s failure to reverse this Tory policy will continue to both haunt him and the thousands of families affected. As MP’s on their lavish salaries troop off home for an extended summer recess, struggling parents/carers will face the nightmare of the 6 week school holidays with not enough food or money to feed their children.
For the millions who had placed their hopes in this government, they have been served up thin gruel. This unashamedly pro-business government will fail to grapple with the acute crisis gripping all of British society. Only a socialist programme to bring the economy into democratic public ownership and take control of the massive wealth currently being hoarded by the capitalist class can begin to rectify these problems; the resistance to this government begins now!
