Downing Street and Buckingham Palace have discussed how to prevent the leadership crisis currently engulfing Keir Starmer overshadowing the King’s Speech on Wednesday.
King Charles will travel in full pomp and circumstance for the official State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday morning before reading out the government’s legislative agenda for the year, in a centuries’ old tradition.
But a senior civil service source admitted that the crisis swirling around the PM has plunged the monarch’s role into “unchartered territory”. With the leadership still unresolved – casting a doubt over the legislative agenda to be read out – the ceremony “could be very awkward for the King”, the source said.
The Government’s policies are expected to include closer ties with the EU, powers to nationalise of British Steel and an enhancement of the apprenticeship scheme for young people as well as special education needs reform, as outlined by the Prime Minister in his ‘make-or-break’ speech on Monday.
Full details will be released later tonight.
Leadership issues raised with the ‘Golden Triangle’
Fears that the King could be dragged into questions over the Prime Minister’s future have been fuelled in Whitehall over the timing of the King’s Speech on Wednesday, coming in the wake of several ministerial resignations and more than 100 MPs urging him to step down.
With Starmer refusing to heed calls from Cabinet critics to set a timetable for his departure, it is unlikely that the PM will resign before the traditional ceremony takes place.
The source said there had been discussions within the Cabinet Office about where the leadership crisis leaves the Government constitutionally.
And The i Paper understands it has been raised within the so-called “Golden Triangle” – the trio of senior aides to the King and Prime Minister which is the main vehicle for talks between the government and Palace.
The civil service source said: “There have been exchanges – on both sides – about the King’s Speech and where this leaves us constitutionally.
“This is unchartered territory and could be very awkward for the King given how quickly things seem to be moving. This is exactly the kind of thing the civil service [and the Golden Triangle] should be and would be preparing for.”
The Golden Triangle consists of the King’s private secretary, Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo and the PM’s principal private secretary.
The trio normally have regular discussions to keep channels open between Downing Street and the Palace.
Monarch needs to be protected
A separate Whitehall source said there had been discussions among officials to consider any procedural issues that could arise if the PM was forced to resign before the State Opening, but the view was because it was the government’s speech, not the Prime Minister’s, it would be able to proceed as planned.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment. A No 10 source said they were “not aware” that there had been discussions about the tone of the speech.
But Politico reported that the Palace privately asked whether the King should proceed as planned with the State Opening on Wednesday.
Citing people familiar with the matter, it said a senior aide to the monarch asked top government officials, including Romeo, whether the state occasion should go ahead.
The King’s team made clear in conversation with the PM’s officials of the importance of protecting the monarch from any impression he is being used for political ends, Politico reported.
However The i Paper understands that at no point did anyone ever suggest that the State Opening might not go ahead.
A constitutional insider said the Golden Triangle holds talks all the time and the issue of Starmer’s leadership is likely to have been raised to avoid any awkwardness for the King.
Speech written on vellum
The King’s Speech itself is still written on vellum – or goatskin – and has to be finalised the week before the State Opening to allow the ink to dry, meaning no changes could have been made to the speech itself since last week, before the local and devolved elections triggered a crisis for Starmer.
The insider said Palace officials will have pored over the original draft of the speech from No10 anyway, to ensure that the King does not have to say anything too slogan-heavy or political.
This means that the speech – which will set out the government’s legislative agenda – will already be fairly neutral in tone.
However the leadership row throws a question mark over that agenda and whether it will be torn up if a new prime minister is in place within weeks.
The constitutional insider said the Golden Triangle would be “keeping abreast of the leadership issue” but added that the “Palace will be very good at keeping the King clear of this”.
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