Britain’s Conservative government set out a pre-election policy slate including tougher sentences for serious crimes and promises of elusive economic growth in a speech delivered by King Charles III at the grand State Opening of Parliament.
The king read out a speech written by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, outlining its legislative plans for the next year.
The speech announced tougher sentences for serious offenses, including no-parole “life means life” sentences for people convicted of sadistic murders and an end to early release for serious sexual offenders.
The speech, which lasted just over 10 minutes, set out a modest slate of 21 bills, ranging from changes to the way soccer teams are run to a clampdown on unlicensed pedicabs.
Several laws were touted as “Brexit freedoms” enabled by the UK’s exit from the European Union, including less stringent data-protection rules to replace the EU’s GDPR, and a ban on exporting live animals for slaughter.
Environmentalists and opposition parties say it will just make it harder for the UK to switch to renewable energy and to meet its goal of reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
