Government by ‘Talking Shop’? Hardly – Here’s Just Some of the Major Reforms Keir Starmer Has Introduced So Far

The Daily Mail front page today claims that Keir Starmer’s Government is operating a ‘Government by Talking Shop’. 

The Conservative-supporting newspaper hits out at ministers in its splash, condemning the Government for launching “at least 67 reviews” in five months. 

But a Labour official hits back, telling Politico: “The Tories did about 61 reviews alone on whether to ban plastic cutlery — and got countless glowing Mail front pages as a result.”

It’s a fun comeback. But what exactly has Starmer’s Government actually done so far?

A rummage through Parliament’s legislative agenda shows a packed itinerary – even if most newspapers haven’t given it all that much coverage.

From renationalising the railways to strengthening workers’ rights and reforming the House of Lords, the Government has in fact embarked on a highly ambitious legislative agenda. 

Here’s a breakdown of the key laws passed or introduced so far, and their current status in Parliament.

Laws Enacted Already

Budget Responsibility Act  2024

Status: Received Royal Assent on 10th September 2024

This is effectively the “Liz Truss Mini-Budget Prevention Act”. It imposes new duties on the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to ensure that “fiscally significant” measures announced by the Government are subject to an independent assessment by the OBR, even without a request from the Treasury.

Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act  2024

Status: Received Royal Assent on 28th November 2024

The Act removes the current presumption in favour of private sector-run passenger railway  services in England, fulfilling the Government’s commitment to bring train operations back into public ownership when current franchise contracts end. 

It enables the Secretary of State and devolved administrations to secure the provision of railway passenger services via contracts with public sector operators.

It has been a demand of the Labour movement ever since rail was privatised under John Major in the 1990s. And now it’s happening, on a staggered basis, within months of the new administration coming to power.  

Bills in Progress

Great British Energy Bill 2024-26

Status: Completed Commons stages, currently at Second Reading in the Lords

The Bill establishes Great British Energy as a publicly-owned, operationally independent company to “facilitate, encourage and participate in the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy,” with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, and ensuring energy security.

It’s a new Government-owned energy producer – a key plank of Labour’s plans to get to a 100% renewably-powered electricity grid by 2030. 

Employment Rights Bill 2024-26

Status: Currently being scrutinised in Committee Stage in the Commons 

This is a big one. The wide-ranging Bill seeks to strengthen workers’ rights, including banning most zero-hours contracts, introducing a right to reasonable notice of shifts, payment for short-notice shift cancellations, banning “fire and rehire” practices, enhancing protections against sexual harassment, establishing fair pay agreements in adult social care, and reforming trade union legislation to make it easier for unions to organise and represent workers. 

Renters’ Rights Bill 2024-26

Status: Currently being scrutinised in Committee Stage in the Commons 

The Bill aims to transform the experience of private renting by abolishing “no-fault” evictions, introducing a Decent Homes Standard in the sector, strengthening tenants’ rights to challenge punitive practices like unreasonable rent rises, and banning discrimination against tenants on benefits or with children.

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill 2024-26

Status: Completed Commons stages, now heading for Second Reading in the Lords

As a “first step” in reforming the upper chamber, this Bill removes the right of the 92 remaining hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. 

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Finance Bill 2024-26

Status: Had Second Reading in the Commons, awaiting Committee of the Whole House

Enacting the provisions of the Budget, this Bill sets income tax rates and allowances for 2025-26, and increases Capital Gains Tax rates for business asset disposals and “carried interest” gains affecting shares of profits from private equity, venture capital, or hedge funds earned by the fund partners.

It introduces inheritance tax for large farm estates, removes non-domicile (non-dom) tax dodging loopholes, abolishes the VAT exemption for private school fees, and adjusts rates for various excise duties and levies. It also extends the levy on oil and gas industry profits. 

Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024-26

Status: Had Second Reading in the Commons, now has an official Call for Evidence

A landmark Bill, initially proposed by Rishi Sunak but jettisoned when he called the General Election, which aims to create a “smoke-free generation” by gradually ending the sale of tobacco products to those born after 1st January 2009. In other words, it will fully ban tobacco over the course of several decades. 

It strengthens powers to ban smoking in public places, restricts the advertising of vapes to children, and introduces a new retail licensing regime for tobacco and nicotine products.

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Data (Use and Access) Bill  2024-26

Status: Completed Lords Second Reading, awaiting Committee Stage

This Bill aims to reform the UK’s data protection regime post-Brexit, including fresh provisions on customer data access, ID verification services, a new Information Commission, smart meter licensing, and retention of communications data.

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill 2024-26 (aka Martyn’s Law)

Status: Completed Commons Committee Stage, awaiting Third Reading

Named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, this Bill requires operators of premises to take steps to reduce vulnerability to terrorist attacks and the risk of harm to the public. The last Government promised it repeatedly, but never passed it. Labour appears to be pushing it through early on in its term. 

Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill 2024-26

Status: Had Lords Second Reading, awaiting next stage in the Lords (where it started)

This Bill clarifies that digital assets like crypto-tokens can attract property rights even if they don’t fit into traditional legal categories of personal property, responding to the development of new types of digital assets like Non-Fungible Tokens and cryptocurrencies, which currently exist in a legal grey-area. 

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill 2024-26

Status: Had Second Reading in the Commons, awaiting date for Committee Stage

The Bill establishes the role and functions of an Armed Forces Commissioner, to investigate welfare matters in the forces. It will abolish the existing (and much decried) Service Complaints Ombudsman. 

Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill 2024-26

Status: Had Second Reading in the Commons, awaiting date for Committee Stage

This one enables the UK to provide Ukraine with £2.26bn in loans as part of a G7 financial assistance package, to be repaid from profits on frozen Russian assets.

UPDATE

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More Reforms

Other notable bills at various stages include the Mental Health Bill, which amends the Mental Health Act 1983 to strengthen patients’ rights. It goes to Committee Stage in the Commons on the 16th December.  

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill updates the UK’s product safety and weights & measures framework after Brexit (Committee Stage in the Lords, where it started, on the 11th December). And the Football Governance Bill will establish an independent regulator for football (Committee Stage in the Lords this Wednesday 4th December). 

So that’s three Government-backed Bills passed so far since July, nine Government bills already through the first House, and another 15 which have already had their first proper debate in Parliament.  

They may face amendments and opposition. But few can deny that, taken together, the legislation is ambitious and will significantly reshape Britain’s social and political landscape. 

Of course, these are just the full-blown pieces of legislation that require full parliamentary scrutiny. 

It does not cover the many secondary pieces of legislation – Statutory Instruments – that ministers have passed without going through the full Parliamentary rigmarole. 

That includes policies like:

• Plan to end new HIV cases in England by 2030
• Major reforms to the bus transport sector including allowing local authorities to set up publicly-owned bus companies
• New funding for hundreds of school breakfast clubs ahead of an England-wide rollout next year
• A new nuclear service commemoration medal for wronged British veterans
• Ex-servicemen and women can now use veterans cards as voter ID
• Single-use vapes will be banned from June 1st 2025
• Pay deals have settled strikes for:
  • Teachers
  • Health service workers
  • Railway workers
• De facto ban on onshore wind farms has been lifted
• New code of practice introduced for student accommodation landlords
• Seafarers’ Wages overhaul implemented, ensuring seafarers are paid the legal National Living Wage
• New right for English councils to auction leases of vacant high street shops
• Bibby Stockholm refugee detention barge closed
• £700m Rwanda deportation scheme ended
• Actions to address the prison overpopulation crisis
• New compensation fund established for Infected Blood scandal victims
• Ban implemented on hospitality employers taking staff tips
• New sanctions introduced on Russia, Iran and Syria
• Funding restored to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza
• Largest-ever funding round for new renewable energy schemes to feed into the grid
• National Energy System Operator nationalised (affecting National Grid management)
• Expanded access to anti-overdose medications like naloxone
• A new ‘Fair Payment Code’ (being launched today, incidentally) to address late payments hitting small and medium businesses and sole traders

Oh, and one thing the Mail actually has reported on – eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments reduced. 

Of course you can agree or disagree with all of these changes, but Government by talking shop it most certainly is not.

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