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Labour might have been out of power for almost 15 years in Britain, but the main opposition party has set itself an early task if it wins the general election: delivering some of the legislation that Rishi Sunak promised but failed to enact.
The prime minister’s decision to call a July 4 election meant many bills were junked, but Labour has indicated it would resurrect them — taking advantage of the fact they are drafted and ready to take off the shelf.
Allies of Sir Keir Starmer confirmed a Labour government would revive four key bills, including Sunak’s legislation intended to phase out smoking and a separate measure to end no-fault evictions, strengthening the rights of tenants.
The Labour leader backs the creation of an English football regulator, which is intended to improve financial resilience in the game, with reserve powers to redistribute cash from the Premier League to smaller clubs.
Starmer has also promised to implement “Martyn’s law”, which would require venues and local authorities in the UK to deploy training and contingency plans in the event of a terrorist attack.
Sunak last week told Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett was among 22 people killed in the 2017 blast at the Manchester Arena, that he would introduce a bill before the summer recess — hours before calling the election.
A spokesperson for Starmer said Labour would deliver on some of Sunak’s legislation: “Where we agree and they complement our central missions, we will look at how we will deliver on promises the chaotic Tories failed to.”
Starmer said in the King’s Speech debate last November that where Labour agreed with Sunak, it would support his legislation. “He can count on our votes — we will always serve the national interest,” he said.
Sunak’s decision to call an early election — a surprise to most Conservative MPs and ministers — led to the unusual situation where a number of bills that enjoyed cross-party support ran out of time to reach the statute book.
Sunak even cited his tobacco and vapes bill, which would ban the selling of tobacco to anyone born after January 1 2009, as part of his political legacy when he announced the election.
But two days later the bill was not among those rushed on to the statute book as part of the “wash-up” process in parliament. Starmer is said by allies to be as keen as Sunak in phasing out smoking.
Jill Rutter, senior fellow at the Institute for Government think-tank, said one of the reasons Sunak failed to enact so much of his legislation was because “parliament has been so unmanageable and there have been delays”.
Rutter also noted parliament was often working relatively short hours, as fractious MPs were sent away from Westminster to campaign in their constituencies.
Labour’s legislative priorities would be set out in a King’s Speech after an election victory, but reviving Sunak’s legislation would be relatively easy to achieve since the bills have already been drafted.
They would have to be reintroduced into parliament and go through all of their legislative stages afresh — Labour ministers might also want to add their own ideas — but they might expect cross-party support.
The future of other bits of Sunak’s half-finished business, including a proposed sale by the government of its roughly 23 per cent stake in NatWest bank to retail investors, is less certain.
“Labour will review the details if we form the next government after the general election,” the party said. “Any decisions we take will be about ensuring value for money for the taxpayer and investors.”
Meanwhile, Labour has adopted perhaps the most significant Conservative policy of all: fiscal rules that some economists say would force Starmer to either impose a tough squeeze on public services or raise taxes.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday that she would apply “robust fiscal rules that get debt falling by the end of the parliament”, the same constraints adopted by chancellor Jeremy Hunt.