�* rightful place in the restoring our rightful place in the internal market of the uk, and within a speech today there is mention about promoting the union and strengthening the social fabric so we look forward to continuing those engagements, and seeing a reformed at stormont that is stable, and able to perform.— reformed at stormont that is stable, and able to perform. doctor stephen par , and able to perform. doctor stephen parry. your — and able to perform. doctor stephen parry, your reaction _ and able to perform. doctor stephen parry, your reaction to _ and able to perform. doctor stephen parry, your reaction to the _ and able to perform. doctor stephen parry, your reaction to the king's . parry, your reaction to the king's speech? it parry, your reaction to the king's seech? . , , parry, your reaction to the king's seech? ., , ., ~ ., . ., speech? it was very weak on climate chan . e speech? it was very weak on climate change and — speech? it was very weak on climate change and that _ speech? it was very weak on climate change and that has _ speech? it was very weak on climate change and that has to _ speech? it was very weak on climate change and that has to be _ speech? it was very weak on climate change and that has to be a - change and that has to be a long-term _ change and that has to be a long—term worry. _ change and that has to be a long—term worry. be - change and that has to be a - long—term worry. be disappointed that the _ long—term worry. be disappointed that the promise _ long—term worry. be disappointed that the promise on _ long—term worry. be disappointed that the promise on conversion i that the promise on conversion therapy— that the promise on conversion therapy has _ that the promise on conversion therapy has been _ that the promise on conversion therapy has been dropped, - that the promise on conversion therapy has been dropped, it. that the promise on conversion l therapy has been dropped, it has that the promise on conversion - therapy has been dropped, it has not materialisee — therapy has been dropped, it has not materialised. in _ therapy has been dropped, it has not materialised. in terms _ therapy has been dropped, it has not materialised. in terms of _ therapy has been dropped, it has not materialised. in terms of northern . materialised. in terms of northern ireland, _ materialised. in terms of northern ireland, no— materialised. in terms of northern ireland, no mention _ materialised. in terms of northern ireland, no mention at _ materialised. in terms of northern ireland, no mention at all, - materialised. in terms of northern ireland, no mention at all, which i ireland, no mention at all, which shows_ ireland, no mention at all, which shows that — ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it _ ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it is _ ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it is up— ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it is up to _ ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it is up to us - ireland, no mention at all, which shows that it is up to us in - shows that it is up to us in northern— shows that it is up to us in northern ireland - shows that it is up to us in northern ireland to - shows that it is up to us in northern ireland to sort i shows that it is up to us in i northern ireland to sort this shows that it is up to us in - northern ireland to sort this out, the uk _ northern ireland to sort this out, the uk government— northern ireland to sort this out, the uk government have - northern ireland to sort this out, the uk government have other. the uk government have other concems— the uk government have other concerns and _ the uk government have other concerns and northern - the uk government have other concerns and northern irelandl the uk government have other. concerns and northern ireland is the uk government have other- concerns and northern ireland is not at the _ concerns and northern ireland is not at the centre — concerns and northern ireland is not at the centre of— concerns and northern ireland is not at the centre of their _ concerns and northern ireland is not at the centre of their attention, - at the centre of their attention, 'ust at the centre of their attention, just in— at the centre of their attention, just in terms— at the centre of their attention, just in terms of— at the centre of their attention, just in terms of how _ at the centre of their attention, just in terms of how we - at the centre of their attention, just in terms of how we get - at the centre of their attention, | just in terms of how we get back at the centre of their attention, - just in terms of how we get back to work— just in terms of how we get back to work in _ just in terms of how we get back to work in the — just in terms of how we get back to work in the northern _ just in terms of how we get back to work in the northern ireland - work in the northern ireland assembly. _ work in the northern ireland assembly, the _ work in the northern ireland assembly, the governmentl work in the northern ireland i assembly, the government is work in the northern ireland - assembly, the government is forcing divisions— assembly, the government is forcing

divisions in— assembly, the government is forcing divisions in society _ assembly, the government is forcing divisions in society with _ assembly, the government is forcing divisions in society with culture - divisions in society with culture was: _ divisions in society with culture was, it— divisions in society with culture was, it has— divisions in society with culture was, it has to— divisions in society with culture was, it has to stop— divisions in society with culture was, it has to stop and - divisions in society with culture was, it has to stop and we - divisions in society with culture l was, it has to stop and we need divisions in society with culture - was, it has to stop and we need some time for— was, it has to stop and we need some time for reflection _ was, it has to stop and we need some time for reflection on _ was, it has to stop and we need some time for reflection on that. _ was, it has to stop and we need some time for reflection on that.— time for reflection on that. thank ou all time for reflection on that. thank you all for— time for reflection on that. thank you all for speaking _ time for reflection on that. thank you all for speaking to _ time for reflection on that. thank you all for speaking to us, - time for reflection on that. thank you all for speaking to us, thankl you all for speaking to us, thank you. we have had some lively debate. thanks to tina, there. some lively debate in the studio over the issues in the king's speech. as we are heading towards the end, chris, what happens now, for the rest of the day, theyjust go into the house of commons and have a debate? the?r day, theyjust go into the house of commons and have a debate? they do, and a coople — commons and have a debate? they do, and a coople of — commons and have a debate? they do, and a couple of hours' _ commons and have a debate? they do, and a couple of hours' time, _ and a couple of hours' time, there is a backbenchers' contribution which is quite hard to write because it is meant to be funny, which isn't easy so a couple of backbenchers do a bit of that and then you get into the political discussion, we will hear from the prime the political discussion, we will hearfrom the prime minister, from labour, from this scottish national party and others, and the debate will carry on until 10pm tonight, and carry on for subsequent days, starting to pick away at, to chisel away at, to debate and discuss and enlighten on the various bills that

their house will then start kicking around. ., , ., ., , around. you see various dividing lines in there. _ around. you see various dividing lines in there. there _ around. you see various dividing lines in there. there are - around. you see various dividing lines in there. there are some i around. you see various dividing - lines in there. there are some where there are fewer _ lines in there. there are some where there are fewer dividing _ lines in there. there are some where there are fewer dividing lines - lines in there. there are some where there are fewer dividing lines and - there are fewer dividing lines and somewhere there really are, and that will form part of the pre—election discussion. will form part of the pre-election discussion-— will form part of the pre-election discussion. ., ,, , ., ., ., ., , discussion. thank you to all of my ruests, discussion. thank you to all of my guests. that _ discussion. thank you to all of my guests. that is — discussion. thank you to all of my guests, that is the _ discussion. thank you to all of my guests, that is the end _ discussion. thank you to all of my guests, that is the end of - discussion. thank you to all of my guests, that is the end of our - guests, that is the end of our programme today. it is an absolutely momentous day for the british state. i hope that you enjoyed all of the pageantry and performance and the phantasmagoria, and the tradition, but it is a massive day for the state of british politics, coverage of the debate on the king's speech will continue next

thank you to the team at running us through all the pageantry this morning. we have got all the continued reaction, debate, this is the first king's speech in more than 70 years

after the death of queen elizabeth last year. today is as much about pageantry as it is about politics. it is a ceremony that dates back to the 15th century. it marks the start of a new parliamentary session bringing together the different parts of parliament, the crown, the peers, and the mp5. the king entered through the sovereign entrance. king charles wearing the imperial state crown with 2868 diamonds. queen camilla wore the same

dress she wore in the coronation. then came moment when black rod summons mps to the house of lords. as is tradition, the door of the house of commons is slammed in black rod's face to symbolise the commons' independence from the crown. black rod is an official position currently held by sarah clarke. take a watch. close the door! it's black rod. open the door. black rod! mr speaker, the king commands this honourable house to attend his majesty immediately in the house of peers. as is tradition the prime minister walked with the oppositon leader sir keir starmer from the commons to the lords to hear the speech. rishi sunak says the speech represents his vision of "a better britain". remember, that speech written by the

government, but delivered by their king. labour say it amounts to a "pretty pathetic programme of tinkering". the king began his speech with a tribute to what he called the "legacy of service and devotion to this country" set by his mother, the late queen elizabeth. the first pledge was on inflation. my government will continue to take action to bring down inflation, to ease the cost of living forfamilies and help businesses fund newjobs and investment. the economy featured highly in that speech, also the cost of living crisis. the king also spoke about the government's plans for the energy sector. legislation will be introduced to strengthen the united kingdom's energy security and reduce reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile foreign regimes.

this bill will support the future licensing of new oil and gas fields, some are seeing that as throwing a spanner in the works for labour should they decide not to follow that example that has been set they are, the government saying they would renew those licenses every year, ratherthan would renew those licenses every year, rather than the current system thatis year, rather than the current system that is much longer. we will talk about that in a moment. the king also spoke about the current israel—gaza war, saying more needed to be done to promote peace and stability in the region. my ministers will work closely with international partners to support ukraine, strengthen nato and address the most pressing security challenges. this includes the consequences of the barbaric acts of terrorism

against the people of israel, facilitating humanitarian support into gaza and supporting the cause of peace and stability in the middle east. whilst the government is laying out plans and omissions for the year ahead, some suggestion bulls plans could be overshadowed by events elsewhere, most clearly that war in the middle east. and whilst the prime minister might be trying to draw a line, separate his leadership from those conservative leaders that came before him, it could prove difficult to shake off some of the legacy issues. amongst the other government priorities were tougher sentences for serious offenders, laws to prevent children smoking and investment in transport. let's bring in our political correspondent damian grammaticas.

21 pieces of legislation the government says it would look to introduce. what were the standout moments? you heard a little bit there, king charles was talking about the overarching ideas, long—term ideas for the economy, tackling cost of living, but when you looked at the nuts and bolts, that is not what was in the measures. there is not big structural changes to anything. there are areas and measures in various areas. you may have had some of the criticism that has already come in, this is not animated by a grand idea or strategy. 0n the issue of economy, the standout think there is the oil and gas, this annual new licences issued for oil and gas in the north sea, that is what the government is saying it wants to do. it says that is all about energy

security into the future, to not be relied on other regimes, other countries, and try to keep prices down. difficulty there. laboursays it will not continue down. difficulty there. labour says it will not continue that, down. difficulty there. laboursays it will not continue that, it down. difficulty there. labour says it will not continue that, it does not want to issue new licences if it wins the next election. also, the north sea transitional authority says that doing that does not actually increase energy supply, most of the oil has to be sold abroad to refine, and bought on the open market and brought back here, 0pen market and brought back here, so it says it will not bring down prices or increase supply. the criticism of that is, people will say, for a transition to net zero you should invest more now in cleaner energy sources. there is a battle to be fought there. on crime and justice in society, talking about the various measures, tougher sentences, so the most serious murders with sexual or sadistic

behaviour getting a whole life term. serious cases of rape and sexual violence getting —— serving the full sentence. some of the detail published, the government is talking about wanting to have life means life, tougher crime policies, also, any sentences of 12 months or less, a presumption that those are served in the community, and criticism is that pushing more people into present will overburden an already struggling crime and justice system. and on socialjustice, the leasehold rental reform measures, things we have talked about before, for the conservatives it is about trying to improve the supply of housing, trying to appeal to that homeowning aspiration, look into the detail,

ending new leaseholds will only apply to houses, you will not be able to build a house and sell it as able to build a house and sell it as a release, it'll have to be three holes, but it does not mention anything about flats, apartments. —— it will have to be freehold. ground rent, unable to do improvements without permission of the freeholder, all of these sorts of issues feel very domestic, very local, very voter friendly. of issues feel very domestic, very local, very voterfriendly. that, some would suggest, is the start of an electioneering period. the no —— we know there will be an election before january 2025. this is filing the starting gun on that. the starting gun has already been fired in the last few months. this is about manoeuvring, positioning, the government trying to find

policies, light on north sea oil and gas, it can try to lay out a proposition seeing, this is all about our secure supply, about trying to make things cheaper for you. there will big about that. many will see it differently. that is one area they can try to draw a dividing line. on the questions around crime and justice, line. on the questions around crime andjustice, laboursays line. on the questions around crime and justice, labour says it would support those. other things, and justice, labour says it would support those. otherthings, like banning smoking, look at the detail, any child born after 1st of january 2009 will never be allowed to buy a cigarette because every year of is age limits will increase year by year, any child 1a are under now, will never buy a cigarette. that is something about rishi sunak trying to get his personal imprint on what is happening here, and things that he will present to the electorate and see, these are things that he believes in, that he is doing. big

question, does this amount to a big enough idea, a big enough momentum shift, will it help when the government is way behind in the opinion polls, has been losing by—elections by record margins in recent months? that'll be the big test. we listen to the speech together. it is fair to say that it can get through quite a lot in that speech. went through everything from football regulation to regulation on cabs in central london. a lotto football regulation to regulation on cabs in central london. a lot to fit into 20 minutes. but interesting stuff comes in the detail. is that detail enough? labourare stuff comes in the detail. is that detail enough? labour are saying this is not a plan for a year, labour could do it in a fortnight. already questions about whether this is ambitious enough. he heard sumac wants to present himself as a standard—bearer for

change, that is not a credible platform. rishi sunak wants to say this is about long—term decisions for the future. for the opposition, they say if you want change don't vote for the conservatives who have beenin vote for the conservatives who have been in powerfor 13 years. they will say that is not a message that you can credibly hear from this government. these are all arguments that will be played out very much so in the next six, 12 months or so as we build up to that election. this is probably the last king? speech before it, so it is the first time rishi sunak has been able to lay out a programme like this and the last before they head to the polls. {shae before they head to the polls. give us a sense — before they head to the polls. give us a sense about _ before they head to the polls. give us a sense about what happens this afternoon now. all the pomp and

pageantry is over. the king and