Britain's Labour government will announce an economic policy blitz in its first King's Speech this week as it puts dozens of bills before the new Parliament.
But Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a first test of loyalty from his massed Labour ranks as back bench MPs look to sway his position on Gaza and welfare.
King Charles III will read out Labour's legislative programme as part of the ceremonial opening of Parliament on Wednesday.
Labour is working on 35 bills in its first year as it aims for an "ambitious parliamentary session that will be built on a bedrock of economic security", Downing Street said.
The package will include laws to create a national wealth fund, relax rules on house-building and hand more powers to local politicians.
Mr Starmer is also promising "unbreakable fiscal rules", to avoid a repeat of the unfunded Liz Truss tax cuts of 2022 that sent financial markets into a tailspin.
Amendment debate
The speech is followed by several days of debate on a 'humble address', which nominally thanks the King for his speech but also acts as a vote of confidence in the government.
Two back bench Labour MPs have already announced plans to derail the address with amendments on arms sales and child benefits.
Zarah Sultana has promised to table an amendment to ban arms sales to Israel, which is also a demand of five pro-Gaza independents who won seats from Labour.
"The Israeli military is using British-made weapons in its horrifying assault on Gaza. Our new government must end this complicity and uphold the rights of the Palestinian people," Ms Sultana said.
The Labour leadership has stopped short of supporting an arms embargo, although Foreign Secretary David Lammy has not ruled out the possibility of a shift.
Labour's huge majority means it should defeat any rebellion comfortably but any vote could reveal the extent of pro-Gaza sentiment on its benches.
Pro-Palestinian candidates stunned Labour in several heartland seats at the election, capturing five and running it close in others.
Mr Lammy said Labour "recognises the agony of communities” after its vote share crashed in constituencies with a large Muslim population.
Ministers will also face a call from Labour backbencher Kim Johnson to scrap a two-child benefit cap brought in by the Conservatives.
"This policy is cruel, punitive and is pushing struggling families into further poverty," said Ms Johnson, who was re-elected in Liverpool.
The monarch's speech, the first under Labour since 2009, is written for King Charles by the government and read out from a throne in the House of Lords.
MPs are asked to attend by a messenger of the King who symbolically has the door of the House of Commons slammed in their face, asserting its independence.
The speech will include measures that Labour has already announced in its first days in office, such as a new border command to tackle illegal migration.
Any financial measures such as tax changes would normally be announced in a Budget by new Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves.
Mr Starmer said there is "no time to waste" as he said Labour is "hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country".
"This is just the down payment on our plans for the next five years, but the legislation set out at the King’s Speech will build on the momentum of our first days in office and make a difference to the lives of working people," he said.
On Thursday he will host a meeting of the 47-nation European Political Community, an informal gathering of leaders from both EU and non-EU countries.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak will lead the opposition's response to the King's Speech, having decided to stay on as caretaker Conservative leader.
The Conservatives have yet to set out a timetable for their leadership election after winning just 121 seats, their fewest ever.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
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List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
