King Charles III kicked off the new parliamentary session in Britain on Wednesday with the \u201cking\u2019s speech,\u201d reading out Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s agenda even as Mr. Starmer fights a rebellion within his party that could derail it.<\/p>\n
In a ceremony filled with tradition, lawmakers gathered in the House of Lords to hear the king describe the priorities of Mr. Starmer\u2019s government for the year ahead. The speech said an \u201cincreasingly dangerous and volatile\u201d world would test \u201cevery element\u201d of Britain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy government will respond to this world with strength and aim to create a country that is fair for all,\u201d Charles said, reading words drafted by Mr. Starmer\u2019s aides and advisers. \u201cMy ministers will take decisions that protect the energy, defense, and economic security of the United Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a typical year, the king\u2019s speech is an opportunity for the sitting prime minister and his cabinet to create political momentum behind their legislative proposals, giving a long list of planned agenda items.<\/p>\n
But this year, the speech has been overshadowed by turmoil inside Mr. Starmer\u2019s party<\/a>. It took place just a day after close to 100 Labour lawmakers called for the prime minister\u2019s resignation and a half-dozen ministers quit their posts in protest of his refusal to step down.<\/p>\n Hours before heading to Parliament to attend the speech, Mr. Starmer met briefly at No. 10 Downing Street with Wes Streeting, the country\u2019s health secretary and the person believed most likely to try and challenge him for leadership of the governing Labour Party and the job of prime minister.<\/p>\n The health secretary spent just 20 minutes inside the building and neither Mr. Starmer nor Mr. Streeting issued a statement afterward. For months, Mr. Streeting has made no secret of his desire to challenge the prime minister when the time is right. But to kick off that process, he would have to collect support from 81 Labour members of Parliament. So far he has not done so.<\/p>\n David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, told reporters on Tuesday that \u201cno one seems to have the names to stand up against Keir Starmer,\u201d and said to his Labour colleagues: \u201cLets get on with the business of running this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the political drama swirling through Westminster, that business began on Wednesday, with the usual pageantry inside the halls of Parliament.<\/p>\n