Initial thoughts on the King's Speech

Did you notice that a sitting MP was taken hostage by the King last Wednesday, 13 May? 

It wasn’t the unlucky 13th for him, as the MP in question, Sir Nic Dakin, said there were “no manacles, no torturing”.  And the King went on to Parliament, where Black Rod summoned MPs to hear the King’s speech. 

All this is the very ‘stuff’ of pomp and ceremony that the world thinks of when looking to the UK and to our Monarchy. 

However, the theatrics of the formal state opening of Parliament sets out the government legislative agenda. 

Hence, it’s not only the pomp, regalia, and tradition, including the taking hostage of an MP, but it’s the government setting out what bills it plans to bring forward in the next 12 to 18 months. 

And it’s an opportunity for us to get a view of what will be coming forward from government that might interest us.

Impact of the King’s Speech 

The King’s Speech contained a series of announcements that are broadly supportive of Mitsubishi Electric’s long-term policy priorities, particularly around electrification, heat pump deployment, consumer affordability and the scale-up of low-carbon technologies.

In this article, I also want to look at the wider implications for the construction industry in general.

This includes:

• Stronger support for heat pump adoption
• Increased focus on retrofit and housing decarbonisation
• Electricity market reform and consumer affordability
• Opportunities for policy engagement
• Key risks and considerations

Stronger support for heat pump adoption

The proposed Energy Independence Bill directly addresses several of the barriers currently constraining heat pump deployment:

• Measures to reduce electricity costs relative to gas, including reforms to the Renewables Obligation along with proposed measures in the Electricity Generator Levy Bill, could improve the running cost proposition for heat pumps.
• The government’s focus on reducing exposure to volatile international gas markets reinforces the strategic case for electrification and clean heat.
• New requirements for landlords to invest in home upgrades could significantly expand retrofit demand across the private rented sector.
• The Warm Homes Agency will become a central delivery mechanism for the Warm Homes Plan, potentially improving coordination, consumer advice and retrofit delivery.
• The Bill also points to an increasing drive for grid readiness, which in turn would lead to (further) reductions in embodied carbon when it comes to renewable products such as heat pumps.

Collectively, these measures support greater long-term market certainty for clean heating technologies and should help strengthen consumer confidence and uptake.

Increased focus on retrofit and housing decarbonisation

The combination of the Energy Independence Bill, Social Housing Renewal Bill and Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill signals a broader shift towards housing modernisation and retrofit.

This is particularly relevant for the construction industry because:

• Social housing retrofit is likely to accelerate through greater long-term investment certainty.
• Area-based retrofit and heat decarbonisation schemes may expand through local authority delivery models.
• Leasehold and commonhold reform could help unlock retrofit and low-carbon heating deployment in multi-occupancy buildings – historically this has been a challenging market segment. 

These developments align with a focus on scalable low-carbon heating solutions for retrofit applications.

Electricity market reform and consumer affordability

Electricity market reform is becoming increasingly central to government policy.

The Electricity Generator Levy Bill and wider market reform agenda aim to:

• Reduce electricity costs,
• Support flexible energy use,
• Encourage fixed-price generation contracts, and
• Improve energy system planning. 

For businesses and the industry in general, lower electricity prices would materially improve the economic case for heat pumps and wider electrification technologies.

Key risks and considerations

While directionally positive, several risks remain:

• Many measures lack implementation detail and remain subject to consultation.
• Delivery capacity across local authorities and supply chains may constrain rollout.
• Electricity price reform may take time to materially affect consumer bills.
• Retrofit in leasehold and mixed-tenure buildings remains operationally complex.
• Future regulatory alignment with the EU may create both opportunities and compliance considerations. 

Overall assessment

Overall, the King’s Speech represents strong legislative and policy signals in favour of electrification, retrofit and clean heat deployment.

The next phase will be critical, with policy design, funding mechanisms and implementation details determining the pace and scale of market growth.

And if you’re wondering, or concerned about Sir Nic Dakin, he said he was given a cup of tea and shortbread biscuits, before his release.

Achilleas Georgiou is Communications Manager