The King’s Speech was not nearly as groundbreaking as many are suggesting—especially with regards to ‘net zero.’
This ceremonial address saw the monarch, dressed in full regalia, read a speech written by the government, setting out its main objectives over the next parliamentary term. Much like his Tory conference speech, Rishi Sunak used the speech to characterise his as the administration of change.
Many newspaper headlines in recent months have bolstered this impression, particularly on the issue of crime. There has been much talk about the Tory pledge to be more “tough” on lawbreaking, which was further—albeit briefly—alluded to in today’s speech, but little on ongoing actions which point in the opposite direction.
The papers have also picked up heavily on the attempt to make the drive towards carbon net zero more palatable. As Charles’ first King’s Speech came to a close, The Daily Telegraph led with the supposed “watering down of net zero.”
This refers to Sunak’s announcement of annual oil and gas licensing. Reports have made much about the notion the policy “may make uncomfortable reading for Charles, who has devoted his life to environmental causes.” Much less has been said about the government’s insistence that it is not bending on its commitment to reach net zero by 2050 and that it “will continue to lead action on tackling climate change.”
In much the same way that the press release announcing new oil and gas licenses featured the phrase “net zero” more than a dozen times, the King’s Speech focussed heavily on the Conservative Party’s environmental aims.
Sunak, speaking through the monarch, stressed that ministers will
seek to attract record levels of investment in renewable energy sources … [to help build] on the United Kingdom’s track record of decarbonising faster than other G7 economies.
So committed is this government to various green objectives that it is also willing to “support developing countries with their energy transition and hold other countries to their environmental commitments.”
The net zero agenda certainly appeared to feature far more dominantly than, say, criminal justice, despite the prime minister’s office saying in advance that this would be “at the heart” of the speech.
Besides this, there were the usual empty platitudes on ministers seeking “to make long term decisions in the interest of future generations,” and to “change this country and build a better future.” And all this after the latest edition of The Sunday Times suggested a good proportion of the news measures would be fairly or very “controversial.” In fact, as Sky News’ Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates pointed out, many of the proposals were already on the table ahead of this speech and some are very unlikely to make a proper appearance before next year’s general election, which the Tories could very well lose anyway. In which case, this will all have been a total waste of time.
