UK's new government announces legislation for 'national renewal' as Parliament opens with royal pomp

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Labour Party government promised to calm the country’s febrile politics and ease its cost-of-living crisis as it set out its plans for “national renewal” at the grand State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

Stabilizing the U.K.’s public finances and spurring economic growth were at the center of Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’s legislative agenda, announced in a speech written by government officials and delivered by King Charles III.

“My government will seek a new partnership with both business and working people and help the country move on from the recent cost-of-living challenges by prioritizing wealth creation for all communities,” the king said in a speech to hundreds of lawmakers and scarlet-robed members of the House of Lords.

Starmer, who has moved his left-leaning party towards the center since becoming Labour leader in 2020, campaigned on a promise to bring bold change to Britain at modest cost to taxpayers. He aims to be both pro-worker and pro-business, in favor of vast new construction projects and protective of the environment. The risk is he may end up pleasing no one.

In a written introduction to the speech, Starmer urged patience, saying change would require “determined, patient work and serious solutions” rather than easy answers and “the snake oil charm of populism.”

The King’s Speech is the centerpiece of the State Opening, an occasion where royal pomp met hard-nosed politics, as the king donned a diamond-studded crown, sat on a gilded throne and announced the laws his government intends to pass in the coming year.

Labour won a landslide election victory on July 4 as voters turned on the Conservatives after years of high inflation, ethics scandals and a revolving door of prime ministers. Starmer has promised to patch up the country’s aging infrastructure and frayed public services, but says he won’t raise personal taxes and insists change must be bound by “unbreakable fiscal rules.”

But he clearly believes in an active role for the state in public life. Wednesday’s speech included 40 bills – the Conservatives’ last speech had just 21 – ranging from housebuilding to nationalizing Britain’s railways and decarbonizing the nation’s power supply with a publicly owned green electricity firm, Great British Energy.

The government said it would “get Britain building,” setting up a National Wealth Fund and rewriting planning rules that stop new homes and infrastructure being built.

Economic measures included tighter rules governing corporations and a law to ensure all government budgets get advance independent scrutiny. That aims to avoid a repetition of the chaos sparked in 2022 by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose package of uncosted tax cuts rocked the British economy and ended her brief term in office.

The government promised stronger protections for workers, with a ban on some “zero-hours” contracts and a higher minimum wage for many employees. Also announced were protections for renters against shoddy housing, sudden eviction and landlords who won’t let them have a pet.

The government promised more power for local governments and better bus and railway services – keys to the “levelling up” of Britain’s London-centric economy that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised but largely failed to deliver.

Though Starmer eschewed large-scale nationalization of industries, the government plans to take the delay-plagued train operators into public ownership.

Trade unions and business groups gave the economic announcements a tentative welcome. Gary Smith, leader of the GMB union, called the speech a “breath of fresh air.” Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of business group the Confederation of British Industry, said it “sets out a program of big choices and bold moves needed to deliver a shift in gear for the economy.”

The speech said the government “recognizes the urgency of the global climate challenge” — a change in tone from the Conservative government’s emphasis on oil and gas exploration. As well as increasing renewable energy, it pledged tougher penalties for water companies that dump sewage into rivers, lakes and seas.

The speech included new measures to strengthen border security, creating a beefed-up Border Security Command with counter-terrorism powers to tackle people-smuggling gangs.

It follows Starmer’s decision to scrap the Conservatives’ contentious and unrealized plan to send people arriving in the U.K. across the English Channel on a one-way trip to Rwanda.

The speech also tackled an issue that has foxed previous governments: reforming the House of Lords. The unelected upper chamber of Parliament is packed with almost 800 members – largely lifetime political appointees, but including almost 100 hereditary aristocrats. The government said it would remove the “outdated and indefensible” presence of hereditary nobles, though there was no mention of Labour's promise to set a Lords retirement age of 80.

There also was no mention of its pledge to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, though the government still plans to do it before the next election.

While Starmer’s agenda marks a break with the defeated Conservative government of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, he has revived Sunak’s plan to stop future generations from smoking by gradually raising the minimum age for buying tobacco.

The speech confirmed that the government wants to “reset the relationship with European partners” roiled by Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020 and said there would be no change to Britain’s strong support for Ukraine.

The king traveled from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in a horse-drawn carriage – past a small group of anti-monarchy protesters with signs reading “Down with the Crown” – before donning ceremonial robes and the Imperial State Crown to deliver his speech. Police said 10 members of an environmental activist group were arrested near Parliament over alleged plans to disrupt the ceremony.

For all its royal trappings, it is the King’s Speech in name only. The words are written by government officials, and the monarch betrayed no flicker of emotion as he read them out.

“The king has zero agency in this,” said Jill Rutter, senior research fellow at the Institute for Government think tank.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, left, and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, right, lead MPs through the Central Lobby at the Palace of Westminster ahead of the State Opening of Parliament in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Dan Kitwood/POOL via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, reads the King's Speech from the The Sovereign's Throne in the House of Lords chamber, during the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)

Anti-monarchy Not My King protesters demonstrate as King Charles III and Queen Camilla ride past in their carriage to the Houses of Parliament ahead of the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. King Charles III's speech will set out the agenda of the UK's first Labour government for 14 years. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and former Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak talk as they walk from the House of Lords after listening to the King's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. King Charles III's speech will set out the agenda of the UK's first Labour government for 14 years. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Members of the House of Commons, including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, Defence Secretary John Healey, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, former prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Oliver Dowden, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, former chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Mother of the House Diane Abbot, Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh, Stuart Andrew, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and former home secretary James Cleverly, listen to the King's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in chamber of the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Aaron Chown/POOL via AP)

King Charles III looks up as he reads the King's Speech, as Queen Camilla sits beside him during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. King Charles III's speech will set out the agenda of the UK's first Labour government for 14 years. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Britain's King Charles III, wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, sits alongside Britain's Queen Camilla, wearing the George IV State Diadem, as he reads the King's Speech from the The Sovereign's Throne in the House of Lords chamber, during the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/POOL via AP)

FILE - Britain's then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunk, right, and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer pass through the Peer's Lobby to attend the State Opening of Parliament, at the Palace of Westminster in London, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. King Charles III will officially open the new session of Parliament on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, donning his ceremonial robes and the crown of state to deliver a speech laying out the legislative program of the U.K.’s first left-leaning government in 14 years. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool, File)

Britain's King Charles III wearing the Imperial State Crown and Britain's Queen Camilla, wearing the George IV State Diadem, attend the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Justin Tallis/POOL via AP)

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive for the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, at the Palace of Westminster in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. ( Jonathan Brady/POOL via AP)

The King's Bodyguard the Yeomen of the Guard take part in a ceremonial search in the House of Lords Chamber, ahead of the State Opening of Parliament, in the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/POOL via AP)

Anti-monarchy Not My King protesters demonstrate as King Charles III and Queen Camilla ride past in their carriage to the Houses of Parliament ahead of the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. King Charles III's speech will set out the agenda of the UK's first Labour government for 14 years. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The Imperial State Crown is seen in a carriage as it is taken to the Parliament, on the day of the State Opening in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/POOL via AP)

The Imperial State Crown is carried through the Norman Porch ahead of the State Opening of Parliament, at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Justin Tallis/POOL via AP)

Anti-monarchy Not My King protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament ahead of the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. King Charles III's speech will set out the agenda of the UK's first Labour government for 14 years. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Sarah Clarke, the Black Rod, walks through the Royal Gallery on the day of the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Hannah McKay/POOL via AP)

Members of the House of Lords and guests take their seats in the Lords Chamber, ahead of the State Opening of Parliament, in the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/POOL via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during an interview at the Senedd as part of a two-day tour of the four nations of the United Kingdom in Cardiff, Wales, Monday, July 8, 2024.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Pope Francis’s visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote part of the South Pacific island nation where Christianity is a recent addition to traditional spiritual beliefs developed over millennia.

Francis will visit the diocese of Vanimo on the main island of New Guinea, one of the most remote and disadvantaged in a poor and diverse nation, according to local Bishop Francis Meli.

Trappings of modernity are scarce. There is no running water for the more than 120,000 people who live in the diocese, according to a church website. Electricity is a luxury for the few who can afford solar panels or portable generators.

The visit is an extraordinary religious highlight in an area where Christian missionaries did not arrive until 1961, and where the religion coexists with traditional ancestor worship, animism and sorcery.

The pope will meet around a dozen missionary nuns and priests from his native Argentina during his visit scheduled for Sept. 8. He will also inspect a church-built high school and crisis center for abused women and girls.

Argentinian missionary Tomas Ravaioli, a priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, said he came to the Vanimo Diocese 14 years ago after his superiors told him there was “a big need for priests.”

While Christian churches are full, Indigenous “customs and traditions are very much rooted,” Ravaioli said.

“Sometimes for people, it’s not easy to live Christianity 100% because they have traditions that are pagan,” Ravaioli said.

“But honestly, I think Christianity here in Papua New Guinea is very, very strong,” he added.

Papua New Guinea is an overwhelmingly Christian country — a 2000 census showed 96% of the population identified with the religion — but the spiritual beliefs that developed during 50,000 years of human habitation remain part of the fabric of the nation’s culture.

Michael Mel is a 65-year-old academic who was baptized as a baby by one of the first missionaries to reach his village in the remote highlands. An Indigenous man, he said he also “aligns” with traditional spirituality and cautions against abandoning Indigenous culture.

“Western civilization is great. The West has brought us reading and writing and technology and all of the rest of it, but there are some things where I think our sensibilities were much, much better,” Mel said, giving Indigenous forest care as an example.

Mining has widened the country’s economic divide and pitted the haves against the have-nots.

“We need to balance ourselves. We cannot just gung ho throw our knowledge away and accept Western civilization completely,” Mel said.

But traditional beliefs can also contribute to the deadly tribal violence that is creating an unprecedented internal security threat across the country, especially allegations of witchcraft, known in local languages as sanguma.

Sorcery allegations typically arise in reaction to unexpected deaths or illness. But some suspect they also reflect jealousies and rivalries arising from major societal changes in recent decades that have more to do with rapid modernization and uneven development than religion.

As traditional bows and arrows are being replaced by more lethal assault rifles, the toll of fighting is getting deadlier, and police fear that they are outgunned. Mercenaries are also now a feature of what were once conflicts limited to tribal rivals.

“Even though they believe in God and they believe in Jesus Christ, ... they fear witchcraft,” said Bishop Meli, who was born east of Vanimo on an island off New Britain.

Authorities don’t condone the persecution of supposed witches. Parliament in 2013 repealed the Sorcery Act which had made an accusation of sorcery a partial defense against a murder charge. But a study has found that prosecutions for violence against accused sorcerers remain rare compared to how commonplace witch hunts are.

Another enduring source of conflict is land ownership. Almost all the land in Papua New Guinea is customarily owned, which means it belongs to a distinct tribe or group instead of individuals. With no clear borders between customary lands, territorial disputes regularly lead to violence.

Both were among the complex combination of causes blamed for a massacre in East Sepik province, east of Vanimo, on July 17 when 30 men armed with guns, axes, spears, knives and sling shots launching sharpened steel rods killed at least 26 villagers.

Four weeks later, police reported a single suspect had been arrested. They remained hopeful that the rest of the culprits would be found. The U.N. children agency UNICEF said 395 survivors of the attack, including 220 children, remained homeless more than a month later because their houses were torched.

Meli said tribal violence was not a problem in his diocese, where he described the population as “friendly and peaceful.”

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape relished the attention the papal visit would bring his country, noting that 80 members of the international media had registered to travel there for the event.

Marape said South Pacific leaders he met at the Pacific Islands Forum on Tonga in late August had proposed sending delegations to meet the pontiff.

He also noted that Catholics were the largest Christian denomination in Papua New Guinea. Catholics accounted for 26% of the population, according to a 2011 census.

"We look forward to the visit,” Marape told The Associated Press at the Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa.

The Vatican is highlighting Papua New Guinea on the international stage at a time the United States and China struggle over the former World War II battleground for strategic influence.

The United States and close ally Australia, concerned by China’s growing influence in the South Pacific, have struck new security agreements with Papua New Guinea. Australia’s latest pact addresses Port Moresby’s concerns about deteriorating internal security problems. China is also reportedly pursuing a bilateral policing pact with Papua New Guinea.

The Vatican. meanwhile, has been working for years to try to improve relations with China that were officially severed over seven decades ago when the Communists came to power. A renewed agreement between China and the Vatican on the appointment of Chinese bishops is expected to be signed in October.

Bishop Meli said the faithful in his diocese were amazed that they would be included in the itinerary of the first visit by a pontiff to Papua New Guinea since Pope John Paul II in 1995.

“They are so excited and people are full of jubilation and joy because this is historic,” Meli said.

“They don’t think any pope in history will be able to come again to Vanimo,” he said.

Associated Press writer Charlotte Graham-McLay in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, contributed to this report.

This story corrects the spelling of the priest's name to Ravaioli instead of Ravailoli.

FILE - Painted warriors practice their performance on May 6, 1984, in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, before the arrival of Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo/Jeff Widener, File)

FILE - Pope John Paul II is greeted by Papua New Guinea Highland natives on his visit to Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea, on May 8, 1984. (AP Photo, File)

In this undated photo provided by UNICEF PNG, East Sepik massacre survivors play a game at a care center in Angoram, Papua New Guinea. (Noreen Chambers/UNICEF PNG via AP)

In this undated photo provided by UNICEF PNG, East Sepik massacre survivors play volleyball at a care center in Angoram, Papua New Guinea. (Noreen Chambers/UNICEF PNG via AP)

In this undated photo provided by UNICEF PNG, East Sepik massacre survivors participate in a class in a care center in Angoram, Papua New Guinea. (Noreen Chambers/UNICEF PNG via AP)

This undated photo provided by Fr Tomas Ravaioli shows young villagers posing for a photo with him in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. (Fr Tomas Ravaioli via AP)

This undated photo provided by Fr Tomas Ravaioli shows a local villager posing for a photo with him in Goroka, Papua New Guinea. (Fr Tomas Ravaioli via AP)

This undated photo provided by Fr Tomas Ravaioli shows local villagers posing for a photo with him in Goroka, Papua New Guinea. (Fr Tomas Ravaioli via AP)