UK Parliament prorogued last week ahead of the King’s Speech on 13 May. Here is what made it through the ping-pong, what fell, and what the new session must now address.
The final week of the parliamentary session was dominated by four bills in simultaneous ping-pong between the Commons and Lords. With prorogation arriving on or around 13 May, the deadline pressure produced a week of legislative manoeuvre that resolved some of the most contested disputes in months.
WHAT PASSED
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act received Royal Assent. After six areas of disagreement remained between the Houses in its final ping-pong round, the two chambers reached agreement. The Act restructures local government in England, creates new mayoral combined authorities, and, critically, gives central government new direction powers over councils failing housing targets. It takes effect as Reform UK is about to significantly expand its council presence.
The Crime and Policing Act cleared its final Lords consideration. After seven divisions in the Lords on the final day, the Houses agreed on AI chatbot offences, the abolition of non-crime hate incidents, provisions on terrorist organisations linked to Iranian armed forces, and private prosecution procedures. The Act addresses anti-social behaviour, knife crime, violence against women and girls, and child sexual abuse.
The Pension Schemes Act passed with the outstanding disputes over discharge of liabilities and investment guidance resolved in compromise amendments. The Act reforms workplace pension arrangements and has significant implications for millions of pension savers.
The Tobacco and Vapes Act received Royal Assent, one of the most significant public health interventions in decades, effectively phasing out tobacco sales over time.
WHAT NEARLY FELL AND THE COMPROMISE THAT SAVED IT
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act came closest to dying entirely. Three issues remained unresolved through multiple rounds of ping-pong: smartphones in schools, children’s access to social media, and school uniform costs.
The smartphones dispute was the most dangerous. The Lords insisted on requiring schools to ban smartphone use during the school day. The Commons rejected this as an overreach. Under parliamentary procedure, if the Lords had continued to insist and the Commons had re-rejected, “double insistence” would have caused the bill to fall entirely, taking with it the provisions on free breakfast clubs, the children not in school register, kinship carer recognition, and social care safeguards.
A compromise was ultimately reached on smartphones, weaker than the Lords wanted but enough to pass. The social media provisions were similarly resolved through ministerial amendments giving broad delegated powers rather than a statutory ban. The bill passed.
The Victims and Courts Act also cleared its final stages, reforming victim entitlements and the criminal justice experience for those who have been wronged.
WHAT THE NEW SESSION MUST ADDRESS
The King’s Speech on 13 May will open the second session of this Parliament. Based on what is known, the legislative pipeline includes a Courts and Tribunals Bill on jury trial reform, a Data Protection Reform Bill simplifying the post-Brexit framework, a Border Security and Immigration Bill on small boat crossings, and a Mental Health Bill reforming the Mental Health Act 1983.
The political context for that King’s Speech will be shaped entirely by what happens on Thursday. A catastrophic night for Labour will demand a legislative programme that responds to the challenge from both Reform on the right and the Greens on the left. The Speech on 13 May will be the first public signal of whether the government has understood what the electorate is telling it.
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