King Charles III will deliver the government’s legislative programme for the coming year in the traditional King’s Speech on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s job hanging in the balance following heavy defeats in local elections that have exacerbated divisions within the ruling Labour party. Watch the speech live at 12:30pm Paris time (GMT+2).
Hard to believe Starmer is still PM after those local election losses. The King’s Speech feels more like a political lifeline than a legislative agenda.
King Charles reading Labour’s wish list while Starmer fights for his job — what a spectacle. That 12:30pm speech can’t come soon enough.
The real question is whether Starmer can unite Labour after these defeats or if this speech just masks the infighting. Those local results were brutal.
I’ll be watching live at 12:30pm Paris time. Curious if the King’s Speech will include any surprises to shore up Starmer’s position, or just the usual formalities.
Starmer’s job is hanging by a thread, and now we get a King’s Speech that feels more like a political advert for his survival. The monarchy deserves better than this.
Local elections exposed deep splits in Labour. If Starmer can’t even hold his own party together, the King’s Speech is just a royal dressing on a sinking ship.
Backroom deals are the norm and it erodes any remaining faith in the process. (f2501c)
The pension time bomb is the issue everyone keeps kicking down the road. (7f2111)
How many inquiries and investigations before anything actually changes? (4efa8b)
The quality of debate has deteriorated to the point of being embarrassing. (6e4621)