King's Speech to take place days after key May elections

King Charles III will visit Parliament on 13 May to announce the government's next programme of legislation by delivering the King's Speech.

Commons Leader Sir Alan Campbell said the government wants to "build on" changes made by more than 50 bills passed since the current parliamentary session began in July 2024 after the general election.

The ceremonial state opening of Parliament to mark the start of the new session takes place just days after elections in England, Scotland and Wales on 7 May.

Labour is braced for difficult results at the polls, which many Labour MPs believe could trigger a challenge to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's leadership.

A government source told the BBC in December that it would be "much harder for somebody to challenge the PM and say we need to go in a different direction when the King is about to come to parliament to announce what we're doing for the next year".

But it is not unusual for the state opening to take place in May or shortly after local elections.

No date has been given for the prorogation of Parliament, which will mark the end of the current parliamentary session.

Bills which do not complete all the required stages in the Commons and Lords before the end of the session will not become law.

Unless arrangements are made for them to be carried over into the next session, those bills will have to begin the legislative process again.

A backbench-led proposal to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales was approved by MPs in the House of Commons in June last year but its progress has stalled in the House of Lords for months and is unlikely to pass.

Parliamentary sessions have no fixed length but tend to last for 12 months, although have been known to run longer after general elections.

The King's Speech is written by the government but read by the Monarch from a throne in the House of Lords.

After he announced the date, Sir Alan also told business questions in the Commons: "This parliamentary session will see the delivery of over 50 Bills.

"And through this legislation, we are improving renters' rights, changing planning laws to streamline the delivery of new homes, we are bringing our railways into public ownership, and we are strengthening employment rights."