Starmer sets out changes to education, health and courts in king’s speech

Keir Starmer has put long-promised changes to education, health and the courts at the heart of his agenda for the next year, as the embattled prime minister looks to prove he can enact the scale of change being demanded by Labour MPs and voters. The prime minister unveiled his legislative programme for the next parliamentry session on Wednesday, a moment he hopes will persuade wavering Labour MPs he should remain in office . Wednesday’s king’s speech included bills to abolish NHS England, overhaul the provision of special educational needs teaching, limit trials by jury, introduce digital ID and end the leasehold system in England and Wales. It also includes measures to make it harder for migrants to gain settled status in the UK, which lie at the centre of the home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration changes, but which could trigger a backlash from Labour MPs. There were few surprises during the speech, which took place against the backdrop of a bitter Labour party battle over whether Starmer should be allowed to stay in Downing Street . The prime minister’s allies say the changes will allow the party to go into the next election having fulfilled its promise to fix Britain’s struggling public services. In a written introduction to the king’s speech, Starmer said: “For two decades our country has been buffeted by crisis after crisis: the 2008 financial crash, the Tory austerity that followed it, Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war. …