In this week’s King’s Speech, the United Kingdom’s newly elected government committed to securing rising living standards across the UK, but made no explicit commitment to respecting economic rights, as it unveiled its legislative agenda for the year ahead.
A number of Labour’s plans, from strengthening workers’ rights, ending no-fault evictions, raising housing standards, further limiting the involuntary detention of people with learning disabilities and autism, to addressing the climate emergency, are a much-needed change from the former government’s incessant attack on human rights.
However, restoring rights and repairing Britain’s global standing will require repealing the raft of regressive measures leftover from the previous government and much bolder action on issues such as poverty and migration.
The new government’s first major test will be how it plans to support the millions of people living in poverty and struggling to afford essentials. Labour committed in the King’s Speech to addressing the cost-of-living crisis and pledged in its manifesto to enact the socioeconomic duty in the Equality Act to remedy deep, structural inequalities. However, it has so far failed to abolish the two-child limit in social security policy, a key driver of child poverty, despite mounting pressure. It should also adopt the Essentials Guarantee to ensure everyone receiving social security support can have a decent standard of living. It should recognize the economic and social rights of everyone, which the UK is committed to respecting in several treaties, as human rights with legal protections.
It remains unclear whether Labour plans to reverse the country’s backsliding on the rule of law and democracy, including by repealing the Conservatives’ anti-protest laws and laws limiting people’s rights to challenge government decisions in court. It could start by withdrawing the previous government’s appeal against a court ruling that it acted unlawfully in giving the police wide powers to curb protest.
Meanwhile, the government has pledged to take much-needed steps to tackle violence against women and girls. It should also champion sexual and reproductive health by expanding access to safe and legal abortion throughout the UK.
The government will also launch a new border security command unit targeting people smugglers and says it will clear the asylum backlog, ending hotel accommodation, and fast-tracking returns. While ending the Rwanda scheme and creating a functioning asylum system are positive first steps, Labour’s overall approach does nothing to prevent the deadly journeys people are taking to reach the UK. It should restore access to asylum, repeal the Illegal Migration Act and Nationality and Borders Act, and provide adequate safe legal pathways to the UK.
Labour has the opportunity to deliver tangible change for people in the UK, but much more is needed to restore basic rights and freedoms, which will be critical to this government’s success.
