King Charles has stood up in Parliament and made his first King's Speech since taking over from his mother as monarch. The ceremony sees him read out the UK government's priorities.
Labour's Rhondda MP Chris Bryant declared that the proposals in the speech contained nothing substantial, could be completed by Christmas and was full of "gimmicks". But the Conservative Party says the list shows the government making progress on serious issues and, ahead of an election expected next year, marking out clear dividing lines with Labour.
The 16 laws announced today reference Wales to varying degrees. So, what was in it?
Banning smoking
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will mean that the sale of tobacco will be restricted so children currently aged 14 or younger can never be sold cigarettes, and to restrict the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children. The UK Government say it will "tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death: smoking".
We knew this was coming, having been discussed a number of times, most recently at the Conservative Party conference. Today's announcement says: "The Bill will extend to England and Wales and apply to England. However, the Government is working closely with the Devolved Administrations to understand their legislative intentions following consultation and to support them should they choose to implement these measures." It will apply in Wales too, it had already been confirmed.
Jade's Law
Since her murder, the family of Jade Ward have been campaigning to get the law changed to suspend the rights of killer parents while they are in jail. Russell Marsh, 29, snuck into Jade Ward's home before stabbing and strangling her in August 2021. A court heard 27-year-old Ms Ward had been "moving on with her life" after splitting from Marsh.
After carrying out his horrific attack Marsh then hid the mum-of-four's body under a pile of clothes for the police to find at her home in Shotton, Flintshire. The judge sentencing him told him he carried out a "savage and merciless attack" simply because his estranged wife wanted to move on. Her brave family applauded as the judge jailed Marsh for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Despite being sent to prison Marsh has still attempted to control his children from behind bars. He retains rights to request school reports and medical details of his children and could even block them getting therapy and travelling abroad despite being found guilty of murdering their mother.
We already knew this change was coming and you can read the background here but today the Government has said it will support an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill to bring Jade's Law into force.
Banning leaseholds
The UK Government say its leasehold and freehold reform bill will "make the long-term and necessary changes to improve homeownership for millions of leaseholders in England and Wales, by making it cheaper and easier for more leaseholders to extend their lease, buy their freehold, and takeover management of their building".
It will, they say, made it easier for existing leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold; Increasing the standard lease extension term from 90 years to 990 years for both houses and flats, with ground rent reduced to £0; removing the requirement for a new leaseholder to have owned their house or flat for two years before they can benefit from these changes.
It will also ban the creation of new leasehold houses so that - other than in exceptional circumstances - every new house in England and Wales will be freehold from the outset.
Tougher sentences for criminals
The sentencing bill will "ensure tougher sentences for the most serious offenders and increase the confidence of victims". It means a whole life order will mean a whole life order. "Ensure rapists, and those convicted of the most serious sexual offences, receiving a determinate sentence, serve every day of their custodial term behind bars".
Those who are sentenced to a term of less than a year in prison would, on the whole, serve their sentence in the community on requirements imposed by the court and extend home detention curfew to suitable offenders serving sentences of four years or more.
Football governance
The football governance bill will "safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans". It says it will create strengthened owners’ and directors’ tests to make sure owners and directors are suitable and will protect fans from irresponsible owners. There will also be a "minimum standard" of fan engagement. It will prevent clubs from joining breakaway or unlicensed leagues; require clubs to seek the regulator’s approval for any sale or relocation of the stadium and demonstrate how they have consulted their fans as part of this.
It will apply to the top five leagues of football. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.
Protecting S4C
The Media Bill refers specifically to Welsh broadcaster S4C. It says it will "modernise the ‘mission statement’ for public service TV so our public service broadcasters (BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C, Channel 5) are encouraged to focus on what makes them distinctive - while having the flexibility to serve audiences across the UK with high quality programmes on a wider range of services."
It adds it will: "Allow S4C, the Welsh language broadcaster, to broaden its reach and offer its content on new platforms in the UK and beyond, updating its public service remit to include digital and online services, and formally implementing in statute other recommendations made by Euryn Ogwen Williams’ 2018 independent review".
The things that weren't in it
No ban on gay conversion therapy
The Conservatives may have repeatedly pledged to ban "gay conversion therapy" but there was a lack of any mention in it in the speech today. A ban would criminalise attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, whether through prayer or other forms of therapy. A ban was promised in 2018, and again last May but a number of MPs and some organisations have raised concerns a ban could criminalise teachers, parents and even therapists from having conversations with children about their gender identity or restrict religious freedoms.
Stonewall’s external affairs director Robbie de Santos said: "The UK Government's failure to deliver a ban on conversion practices after five years of promises is an act of frightful negligence - in doing so, it has given the green light for the abuse against LGBTQ+ people to continue unchecked. Rather than getting mired in a cynical cultural war, the UK Government should be making decisions based on what the evidence and expertise said. England and Wales' 1.5 million LGBTQ+ people, and their families, deserve better."
No train tickets overhaul
The Tories have apparently again delayed a major overhaul of the way Britain's railways are managed. While there have been repeated promises to overhaul the rail network and way tickets are bought with Great British Railways replacing Network Rail as the operator of rail infrastructure, also controlling the contracting of train operations, the setting of timetables and fares, and the collection of fare revenue, no concrete legislation was included in the Speech delivered by Charles III this morning.
No plan to target homeless people
While the Welsh Government has its own plans about tackling homelessness, this widely derided intervention from Suella Braverman failed to get any traction in the speech. The Home Secretary had demanded a crackdown on homeless people sleeping in tents as she claimed they were living on the streets as a "lifestyle choice".
She said wanted to restrict use of tents that cause a nuisance, such as obstructing shop doorways, and to fine charities who help desperate people camp out on the streets. She warned Britain's cities risked becoming like San Francisco or Los Angeles where "weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor".
Energy secretary Claire Coutinho had distanced herself from the suggestion as did the PM.
