King’s Speech highlights

key issues for rural communities

Parliament’s new session has formally begun, with King Charles III using the ceremonial opening to lay out the government’s priorities for the year ahead.

In an extensive speech to both Houses of Parliament, the monarch announced a swathe of draft legislative measures that the current government aims to bring into law before the end of this new session.

Many of the bills could have real-life implications for rural communities if adopted as Acts of Parliament.

Measures outlined in the Social Housing Renewal Bill, such as protecting properties through new restrictions on Right to Buy, could help to increase the availability of homes in rural areas.

Similarly, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill aims to strengthen the rights of leaseholders, which may benefit the 250,000 or so people who currently live in flats in rural areas.

Many other bills, such as those linked to policing, healthcare and digital public services, focus on reform and transferring decision-making power to elected officials at a neighbourhood level, and it is in these areas that further scrutiny and monitoring will be required.

As was the case with the recent English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, ACRE will continue to call on government to consider the needs of rural communities and ensure that any new legislation is properly rural-proofed before being brought into law.

The Institute for Government, an independent think tank, has provided a useful summary of the King’s Speech, which is available to read at www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/kings-speech-2026.

Further to this, a full transcript of the speech can be read on the gov.uk website at www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-kings-speech-2026.