LDN Weekly – Issue 291 – 8 November 2023 – The King's Speech - less take off, more holding pattern
THE KING'S SPEECH - LESS TAKE OFF, MORE HOLDING PATTERN
The King’s Speech is the latest attempt by the Government to revive their flagging fortunes, and in this week’s LDN we unpack the list of legislative priorities for what is likely to be the final parliamentary session before the next General Election.
| No images? Click here  THE KING'S SPEECH - LESS TAKE OFF, MORE HOLDING PATTERNThe King’s Speech is the latest attempt by the Government to revive their flagging fortunes, and in this week’s LDN we unpack the list of legislative priorities for what is likely to be the final parliamentary session before the next General Election. But with much of what the Government promised unlikely to make it into law before then, the speech was more about sending signals to voters, setting traps for Labour and creating dividing lines than actual delivery. It feels like the country, with more and more pressing challenges needing attention, will remain in a holding pattern for some time yet. It will likely take a General Election to finally shake things down. Elsewhere in LDN, we look in more detail at the growing challenge of homelessness and temporary accommodation, the early runners and riders for the next London Borough of Culture and the latest on the race for City Hall, including a new poll making welcome reading for Labour, less so for the Conservatives. We hope you enjoy this edition and if you don't already, do follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. You can also visit our website for more information on LCA’s team, services, and clients. And finally, a technical note: If you like hearing from us, make sure to add ldn@londoncommunications.co.uk to your contacts or ‘safe sender’ list – this will help ensure our news bulletin lands in your inbox. If you love LDN and are looking for a weekly update on the social housing sector, sign up for our Social Housing Weekly newsletter. Compiled by our client team, it provides a tour of the week's major news out of the social and council housing sectors, including commentary from LCA Director, Harriet Shone. Click here and sign up today!  KING'S SPEECHBILLS, BILLS, BILLS: In the first King’s Speech for over 70 years, the Government unveiled their legislative priorities for the coming year. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, claimed the plans would “change our country for the better", bringing "more jobs, more investment and higher growth". Up against it: 21 bills is a lot of legislation to squeeze in to the final year of parliament, and the likelihood is that not all of these will make it into law. Based on previous State Openings of Parliament, some might not even be published as bills, let alone be debated. Zombie parliament: Not helping with the pressures on time is the ‘carry over’ of five bills from the last parliamentary session that ran out of time. Yet the Government has come under attack after House of Commons Library figures revealed that parliament knocked off early in nearly half of the sitting days over the past 18 months. You pay my rent: Most notably carried over is the Renters (Reform) Bill, which is due to have its Committee Stage by early December. The contentious issue of abolishing Article 21 so-called ‘no fault’ evictions continues to cause problems, with Secretary of State Michael Gove under pressure from campaigners, fearful of any delay to implementation. At the same time, some of his own backbenchers are worried about abolition. Expect the difficulties for Gove to rumble on. Lease is the word: The other major piece of legislation in the built environment is the long-promised Leasehold (Reform) Bill. Ministers claim it will make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their leases or buy the freehold, although banning the sale of new leasehold properties looks like it will be restricted to just houses and not flats. Ride it where I like: It finally looks like the garishly decorated, music blaring pedicabs – seen as a scourge in central London – will be subjected to legislation, with TfL handed responsibility for their regulation. Many have called for the new powers, with Cities of Westminster and London Tory MP Nickie Aiken among the most vocal. Some have questioned why a localised niche issue is worthy of its own parliamentary bill – no doubt Aiken’s majority of 3,953 and Labour snapping at her heels has something to do with it. While you weren’t looking: The Government snuck out an announcement watering down the 2027 deadline for commercial landlords to achieve EPC C rating or above. The previous rules meant landlords would need to invest heavily to improve the energy efficiency of properties in order to hit the 2027 deadline, but now the government is updating the timelines to allow “sufficient lead in time for landlords and the supply chain”. What’s missing: No dedicated transport bill, leaving it unclear whether promises to outlaw ULEZ-style clean air zones and limiting local authorities’ powers to introduce 20mph zones will be delivered. There is no promised modernisation of the Mental Health Act, no repealing of nutrient neutrality rules and no ban (again) on conversion therapies. Despite mentioning A-level reform in the speech, no education bill was included. And nothing on banning charities providing rough sleepers with tents, despite the Home Secretary’s best attempts to crash this into the King’s Speech at the last minute. Keir me out: Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer accused the Government of “a new low, because they're not even pretending to govern any more. They've given up on any sense of purpose”. What does this mean: The chances are that many of the bills in the King’s Speech will not make it to the statute book. But it’s unlikely the Government will be too bothered – the contents of the speech were as much about electioneering and setting political traps for Labour as they were about changing the law. Polls apart: Given the polls continue to be bleak for the Conservatives – with the latest from YouGov pointing to a record 35-point deficit in London - Rishi Sunak will be desperate for some good news soon. It certainly didn’t come with the latest Mayoral election poll (see below). MAYORAL RACE UPDATEIS LONDON IN CRISIS? Last week, all four main Mayoral candidates spoke at Centre for London’s annual London Conference ‘Is London in crisis?’. Current Mayor Sadiq Khan asserted that the capital is not in crisis, but that it has and continues to face a number of challenges, some of which he said could be resolved with ‘a Labour mayor and Labour government working in sync’. The verdicts: Appearing in a pre-recorded interview, Conservative candidate Susan Hall voiced her concerns about the Met Police, which she said is ‘in crisis’. Breaking the cardinal rule of campaigning, Hall mentioned her Labour opponent by name throughout her interview. Green candidate Zoe Garbett said that many Londoners are struggling with the cost of living and housing, while Lib Dem candidate Rob Blackie touched on the impact of Brexit on the capital. The numbers: Meanwhile, polling by Queen Mary University of London’s Mile End Institute has shown Khan well in the lead amongst Londoners, with half saying that they would vote for the Labour candidate. Lagging behind is Hall on 25%, Garbett on 11% and Blackie on 7%. The same poll also gave the current Mayor a net approval rating of -16%, with 46% of Londoners saying that they are dissatisfied with his performance. Quietly confident: Despite the numbers, Hall appears confident that she can beat Khan. Speaking exclusively to the Evening Standard, the Conservative candidate said that she believes the unpopularity of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion could work in her favour, while she also spoke about her pledge to tackle crime, including on Transport for London services. LONDON PLANNING ROUNDUP
PEOPLE NEWS
 THE SMALLER STATESMORE THAN THIS: Local councils are seeing an ‘unprecedented’ demand for temporary accommodation, spending at least £1.74bn in 2022-23, according to the Local Government Association. An emergency summit of 158 councils warned that the financial cliff face for many town halls could not look more perilous. Interventions needed: London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing, Tom Copley, has written to the Minister for Housing and Homelessness Felicity Buchan urging the Government to ‘act now’ before homelessness spirals further this winter. Concrete and clay: Copley’s intervention comes as London’s Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) revealed that between July and September 4,086 people slept rough in London, with 2,086 of them new to the streets – a 13% increase on last year’s figures. Shortage town: The stark figures produced by London Councils suggest that around one in 50 Londoners are living in temporary accommodation. Contradiction in terms? Campaigners and charities said the Home Secretary’s recent comments calling homelessness a ‘lifestyle choice’ were ‘unhelpful’ and would ‘gravely undermine’ the Government’s own aspiration to end rough sleeping for good. Conservative MPs and Cabinet Ministers have since distanced themselves from Braverman’s remarks. Beef for chiefs: Meanwhile, Local Government Minister Lee Rowley has escalated his row with South Cambridgeshire District Council over their four-day working week trial, issuing a Best Value Notice to test the efficiency of their new work pattern. Money for nothing? Secretary of State Michael Gove is also exploring proposals to restrict the top level of pay for council chief executives, suggesting that the lack of resources in local government should mean that money is used ‘in the best way possible.’ This is despite some pointing out that what Gove is proposing is already law. LONDON BOROUGH OF CULTUREJOCKEYING FOR POSITION: One of the Mayor’s flagship manifesto commitments from 2016 was the establishment of a London Borough of Culture scheme. Strong pedigree: Since then, four boroughs have been awarded the title, and now City Hall is gearing up for the next two boroughs of culture in 2025 and 2027. Past winners: Previous London Boroughs of Culture were Waltham Forest (2019), Brent (2020), Lewisham (2022) and most recently Croydon (2023). Runners and Riders: With the race hotting up, the boroughs known to be vying for the crown include Wandsworth, Newham, Havering, Ealing, Merton and Greenwich (all going for 2025) with Barnet bidding for 2027. If we’ve missed any, do let us know! Champions Cup: As well as the prestige of being awarded the title of London Borough of Culture, successful councils receive £1.35m of funding from City Hall towards cultural activities throughout the year. Boroughs must contribute funding too and need to deliver at least 30% of the Mayor’s grant (a minimum of £400,000). Final furlong: all this comes as new research from City Hall shows one in five jobs in London are now in the creative economy. Finishing post: The deadline for submissions is 30 November with the lucky boroughs due to be announced in March 2024. WE RECOMMEND
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