King Charles III to open Parliament as Starmer faces Labour crisis

King Charles III will open Parliament on Wednesday as Keir Starmer tries to project control after a bruising week that left Labour’s authority under strain. The ceremonial reset will be one of the clearest tests yet of whether Starmer still has the political capital to push through his agenda.

The State Opening of Parliament, the formal start of the parliamentary year, is when the King’s Speech is delivered. Written by the government and read by the monarch, it sets out the legislative programme for the coming year and remains the only regular occasion when the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords meet together as the Crown in Parliament.

For Starmer, the timing is awkward. Labour’s losses in the May 2026 local elections triggered a leadership crisis after the party shed about 1,496 councillors and 38 councils, while Reform UK won about 1,451 councillors and took control of 14 councils. More than 5,000 seats were contested across 136 local authorities in England, and results in Wales and Scotland added to the pressure on a prime minister already struggling to reset the mood around his government.

Starmer told ministers he would “get on with governing” despite what he described as a “destabilising” 48 hours of pressure. That determination has not stopped the whispers inside Labour. Growing numbers of Labour MPs are calling on him either to name a timetable for departure or step aside altogether, and some senior figures are said to be pressing him privately and publicly to go.

The party’s own rules make removing a leader difficult. Any challenger must be a Labour MP and needs nominations from 20% of Labour MPs to trigger a contest. The threshold was raised from 10% in 2021, and current numbers mean roughly 81 Labour MPs would be needed to force a leadership race. MPs cannot themselves formally vote no confidence in the party leader, which gives Starmer more protection than his critics might like.

The government will hope the King’s Speech helps steady the ship. The last State Opening, on 17 July 2024, followed Labour’s general-election victory and included 40 bills and two carried-over bills, with the government saying it expected to bring forward more than 35 bills and draft bills. This year’s programme will show whether Starmer can still turn constitutional theatre into political momentum, or whether the ceremony will only underline how fragile his grip has become.