London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

The Queen’s speech 2022: what was in it and what it means

The bills included on the government’s agenda for the year and what their aims are.

The Queen’s speech, which set out the government’s legislative agenda for the next parliamentary year, was a mix of new plans, long-made pledges and a handful of held-over bills. Here is what it set out – and what it all means, politically.

Brexit

What is planned: There are six proposed bills intended to make the UK more competitive or otherwise free and liberal in the wake of Brexit, or tailored to post-Brexit trade deals. The flagship is the Brexit freedoms bill, which allows EU rules to be easily removed. Also planned are the procurement bill, financial services and markets bill, data reform bill, genetic technology (precision breeding) bill and trade (Australia and New Zealand) bill.

Why it’s there: In part this is the sheer logistical necessity of changing regulations in the aftermath of Brexit. But the Brexit freedoms bill in particular is intended to remind voters that Boris Johnson got departure from the EU over the line, seen by the Conservatives as a key success.

Culture wars

What is planned: There are seven bills arguably aimed, in part or whole, at stirring up the Tory base, creating headlines in friendly papers and annoying opponents. A public order bill will specifically target disruptive environmental protesters; a media bill will allow Channel 4 to be privatised; public bodies will not be allowed to boycott certain countries. Arguably the key bill would replace the Human Rights Act with a UK bill of rights. The higher education (freedom of speech) bill makes a return from the last parliament. The levelling up bill promises local people “more of a say over changing street names”. Finally, the conversion therapy bill will ban practices aimed at changing sexuality, but not gender identity.

Why it’s there: This is all part of a wider No 10-led strategy to focus on such divisive issues in the hope of shoring up support among socially conservative voters. Whether there are enough of these to win another election, if more liberal Britons become alienated, remains to be seen.

Energy, cost of living and levelling up

What is planned: Two things – a bill setting out Downing Street’s energy security policy, and the much-touted bill to put into law the strategy for levelling up. The latter is described in fairly broad terms, with commitments including the pledge for more devolution in England and, perhaps more appealing to some voters, giving local people powers to shape planning decisions.

Why it’s there: The planning element is fairly clearly aimed at wooing disillusioned Tory voters, especially in the south of England. Elsewhere, it is more of a question, some might argue, of why there is not more focus on the cost of living, even if in part this is because this is an issue which concerns day-to-day policy rather than legislation.

Environment

What is planned: In legislative terms, only one thing: creating a UK infrastructure bank to “support regional and local economic growth and deliver net zero”.

Why it’s there: As with the cost of living, critics might point to the lack of much else. The 140-page Queen’s speech briefing document has brief mentions of the climate emergency in terms of foreign aid, but that is otherwise it. The only mention of “insulate” is a promise to jail Insulate Britain protesters.

Education

What is planned: A higher education bill and a schools bill, setting out loans for post-18 education and a funding settlement for English schools.

Why it’s there: Education is a perennial feature of Queen’s speeches. The schools funding settlement has been contentious for some time, and could bring debate.

Housing and planning

What is planned: Once again, given the housing crisis, it is a case, perhaps, of what is not said. There are planned bills to create a regulator of social housing, and a renters’ reform bill to abolish “no fault” evictions. More significant are the “blue wall”-friendly measures to allow more local input into planning.

Why it’s there: There appears no consensus in government about how to build more homes, so improving the lot of renters at least does something. And planning has been a political minefield for many years.

Crime and security

What is planned: Yet another permanent fixture of the Queen’s speech. A national security bill – a delayed espionage bill from the previous session – tightens up official secrets law and will require lobbyists and PRs to register work for foreign states. An economic crime bill, revived after the invasion of Ukraine, proposes giving more powers to Companies House, insisting on better identity verification for those who manage, own or control British companies.

Why it’s there: Most of the crime bills are legislative tidying up; the flagship crime-based bill is the public order bill, seeking to further restrict protest. Critics will note there is nothing aimed at easing the backlog of cases in the judicial system.

Everything else

What is planned: A mixed bag of more than a dozen bills taking in areas including transport, including a plan for Great British Railways to simplify the privatised rail system and a law specifically aimed at P&O Ferries, mandating minimum employment standards for seafarers. Two bills concern Northern Ireland, and others are even more specific, such as the planned electronic trade documents bill, which puts electronic documents on the same legal basis as their paper equivalents.

Why it’s there: It depends on the bill. Some, such as the rail bill, are the hobby horse of a particular minister (in this case, Grant Shapps). Others simply adapt legislation for a changing world. A few, such as a bill on modern slavery and people trafficking, have been discussed and delayed for some years.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×