FROM Lord Brookeborough losing his seat in the Lords, to hope for local families seeking justice for their loved ones, to a new legal obligation on our public bodies to be truthful with the community, there was plenty for Fermanagh to digest in last week’s King’s Speech.
As part of the official opening of parliament ceremony, King Charles delivered a speech, on behalf of the newly elected Labour government, setting out a swathe of new legislation last Wednesday.
While not all the new laws announced in the speech will apply in the North, with many falling under devolved matters, around half will be implemented here.
Among these are plans to phase out the selling of tobacco products, bills which will support infrastructure and green industry, new digital and cybersecurity rules, and new laws regulating banking and budget responsibility.
Another of the bills that will apply in the North is the new Hillsborough Law.
Named after the infamous football disaster of 1989, and created in response to the subsequent mishandling of the tragedy by the British authorities, the law will place “a legal duty of candour” on public servants and services.
It means government officials and public bodies at both national and local level – such as the police, the Council, or health authorities such as the Western Trust – are legally required to tell the truth under penalty of prosecution.
Another measure announced in the King’s Speech was the abolition of the last remaining hereditary peers in the House of Lords, which will include Fermanagh’s own Lord Brookeborough.
The previous Labour government two decades ago, under Tony Blair, had already abolished hundreds of hereditary peers, however a total of 92 were kept on.
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