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As the headlines focus on Keir Starmer’s fight for his political survival many will have missed the blizzard of policy announcements his Government has made over the past couple of weeks.
It comes as the Prime Minister insists “our plan is working”, pointing out that net migration is down sharply to its lowest since 2021, inflation is down to 2.8%, and the UK was the fastest-growing economy in the G7 in the first quarter of the year.
No 10 is also keen to stress that homicides in England and Wales are at their lowest levels since the 1970s, and knife crime is down by 10% compared with the last year.
NHS waiting lists in England are also at their lowest level for three and a half years, with the “largest single month performance improvement in 17 years” in the latest figures.
That is cited as evidence by No 10 that the PM, and the country, is on the right track. They’ve come alongside a raft of policy measures designed to change the narrative around this Government.
Here are some you may have missed.
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Economy, Tax & Cost of Living
This month the Chancellor announced the ‘Great British Summer Savings‘ scheme: VAT will be cut from 20% to 5% on children’s restaurant menus, children’s cinema/theatre tickets and admission to attractions (theme parks, soft play, zoos, museums) between 25 June–1 September 2026. Its estimated cost of £300m will be funded by closing a tax loophole used by oil and gas firms with overseas operations.
As part of that scheme, free local bus travel is being rolled out for 5–15 year-olds in England throughout August (a £100m fund), on top of the existing £3 bus fare cap, which itself has now been extended to March 2027.
Following campaigning by the Unison union, claimable mileage rates for those who drive for work are being uprated by 10p for 2026-27, backdated to April – the first rise in 15 years. It should give workers an extra £120 for 6,000 business miles.
More controversial among environmentalists is the fuel/motorist support package (set against the Iran conflict): the 5p fuel duty cut has been extended to the year-end, there’s a 12-month road tax holiday for hauliers (up to £912/vehicle), and tax on red diesel is down to its lowest rate in 20+ years.
Tariffs are also set to be suspended on 125 everyday food items (garlic, avocados, mangoes, nectarines, vegetable and olive oil, baked beans, chocolate, sauces, soft drinks), building on another batch of tariff suspensions in April, with a ‘warning’ to retailers to pass savings on.
New anti-profiteering powers will see consumer watchdogs including the CMA gain rapid investigatory powers and the ability to “name and shame” firms raising margins during economic shocks.
We’re also getting a wealth tax, sort of. The consultation on implementing a High Value Council Tax Surcharge (“mansion tax”) has been launched, expected to raise around £500m annually.
Don’t miss a story
Trade & Business
Ministers have sealed a UK–Gulf Cooperation Council trade deal (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE): potentially worth £3.7bn a year. The UK is the first G7 nation to strike this kind of deal; removing around £580m in duties annually (including £360m from day one).
Announced in the King’s Speech, but welcome for many nonetheless, the Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill has been introduced to bring in the “largest crackdown on late payments” in over 25 years.
And the Government has heeded union calls to support the ceramics and chemicals sectors – with £120m for the UK ceramics sector and £350m for chemicals.
Energy & Environment
The Government has given the green light for mega-wind farms Dogger Bank South (up to 3GW capacity) and North Falls (~1GW) – together capable of powering more than four million UK homes.
It brings Labour-approved offshore wind projects to 10.5GW, plus 5.4GW of solar. For offshore wind, each GW of capacity tends to create enough energy to power over a million homes, and for solar over 300,000. Offshore wind reforms have also recently been announced to further speed up delivery.
Ministers are also granting “Critical National Importance” designation for major clean energy projects, reducing their exposure to legal challenges (via judicial-review) to “all but human rights grounds”.
Of course, the biggest energy news is that Ofgem has confirmed a 13% energy price cap rise from 1 July. The gas cap is up 24%, electricity up ~5%, from a £1,641 average base, driven by Middle East gas prices amid Trump’s war on Iran. But the increase would likely have been far higher without Britain’s renewable surge. The link between gas prices and electricity prices is getting weaker all the time, before the Government’s planned reforms to the sector have kicked in.
14 Government Reforms the Media Has Largely Ignored Over Recent Weeks
You probably won’t have read much about these announcements designed to improve people’s lives across the UK
Children, Education & Welfare
This week the childcare market was referred to the Competition and Markets Authority by the Education Secretary, in a bid to get tough on excess charges at nurseries and similar settings.
Meanwhile the plan to implement major children’s social care reforms has launched, with a £2.4bn ‘Families First’ Partnership Programme. Every local authority in England will deliver a single Family Help service, “offering the support and interventions needed to keep families together where possible.” And new multi-agency child protection teams will bring together social workers, police, health and education professionals to “strengthen safeguarding for vulnerable children.” There’s also £560m in capital funds – investment in the bricks and mortar – for children’s homes, and £12.4m to modernise foster care in an effort to create 10,000 new foster places.
Flexible/modular student finance packages have been announced to go live from September 2026 – the first 130 institutions approved to offer short modules for those not wanting to do a full degree, or to split a degree up into stages. It’s designed to help those working or caring alongside studying.
Transport & Infrastructure
The first branded train for the new publicly-owned Great British Rail has been unveiled in Brighton, Govia Thameslink comes into public ownership end of month, and a new GBR ticketing app is set to launch, eradicating booking fees and bringing the publicly-owned providers under one roof. SWR has also just marked one year in public ownership, boasting a new Arterio fleet.
A new mass transit taskforce to roll out trams, light rail and high-frequency buses has been set up alongside a consultation on devolving more transport powers to mayors.
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Legislation: King’s Speech
Almost all of this is announced outside of the 38 new bills set out in the King’s Speech earlier this month.
They include measures to further restrict the Right to Buy (exempting social homes from ‘right to buy’ for 35 years after construction), nationalising Britain’s steel industry (it has already passed its second reading), and the (carried-over) Representation of the People Bill which will introduce votes at 16 and clamp down on foreign donations in politics.
Some announcements have been publicised more than others. The news that 26 new life peers have been appointed – every one of them ousted hereditary peers, in apparent compensation for the end of their ‘bloodline’ rights – was rather buried.
We’ve also spotted that the two-preference voting system, Supplementary Vote, is being swiftly restored for combined-authority mayors (like in Greater Manchester), via the Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026.
It’s intended to come into force by 19 June 2026. That’s a day after Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is elected, or not, as MP for Makerfield, opening up a fresh mayoral contest in the city region where Reform and Labour could again go head to head. The timing is of course notable.
Ann Black of Labour’s NEC ties this quick-fire reform to internal pressure for electoral reform – around 70 Labour MPs (led by Alex Sobel) have separately amended the Representation of the People Bill to push for a National Commission on Electoral Reform.
Reform-Run Council Cuts Opposition Time to ‘Make Way’ for Lord’s Prayer and National Anthem
Christian Nationalism in action: “prayers and songs prioritised over a water catastrophe” claim opposition councillors
But it may be more to do with electoral calculus – centre and left parties tend to do better out of preferential systems than the right in the UK, as many Lib Dems and Greens would vote Labour as their second choice. Conservatives may not tactically rally around Reform on their second preference in the same way.
Keir Starmer is also taking a tougher stance on the far-right, appearing to break with last year’s alleged indulgence of Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march by this time banning eleven foreign far-right agitators from coming to the UK, ahead of the “unpatriotic” repeat of the march earlier this month. Among them were US agitators, suggesting the PM is now up for a fight with the MAGA crowd. The same mood music is being played over promises to act quickly to clamp down on US tech giants getting young people hooked on social media apps.
A No 10 spokesperson says the Government is “not returning to a status quo that failed working people, but building a stronger, fairer Britain.”
“From lowering costs and backing families to restoring control and driving growth, the government is delivering the security and stability people expect – and laying the foundations for long-term change.”
Prime Ministers are rarely around long enough to bask in the long-term benefits of their reforms. But Keir Starmer may get less time than most. The Labour Party may soon decide if he’s “moving fast and fixing things” to their satisfaction.
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Subscribers Get More from JOSIAHJosiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.
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