King’s Speech 2026: The need for cross-sector collaboration more focused than ever

Against the backdrop of the local government elections and speculation around a potential leadership challenge against the Prime Minister, last week saw the much-anticipated 2026 King’s Speech, setting out the legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session. In total, 37 bills were announced, setting out an ambitious year of change ahead. Unlike Budget day, the King’s speech rarely produces a rabbit out of the hat moment, with most bills pre-announced or carried over from the last parliamentary session. That said, it reflected the growing and urgent need for cross-sector collaboration to deliver on the government’s priorities. 

Security, as the underpinning theme 

“Security” appeared no less than 18 times in the speech, highlighting the impact of a highly volatile geopolitical landscape on the UK’s domestic agenda. The speech clearly recognised how international events are increasingly impacting Britain’s growth potential, wider social cohesion, and, in turn, the operating environment for public bodies, industry and civil society alike. The era of instability demands a new model of partnership between leaders across all sectors, focused on British national interest, where events are largely shaped outside our control. This will require new relationships, better collaboration and more focused dialogue across all sectors. 

An ‘active state in partnership with business to support higher growth

As expected, growth was a central theme. The European Partnership Bill and the Regulating for Growth Bill both address areas where genuine engagement will be essential: what a new UK-EU relationship will look like and how regulators and their respective spheres of influence will work together. Both will require leaders from the public and private sectors to come together to map out trade-offs and make decisions in genuine partnership, ensuring opportunities for all parts of the economy. They will also demand greater cross-sector understanding across organisations, greater interchange of talent, and a shared understanding of how both policy and business actually operate in practice. 

Energy security remains a key mission 

The Energy Independence Bill will be a herculean cross-sector endeavour. Delivering it will require government, regulators, the energy industry, investors, infrastructure providers and local authorities, along with the wider system, to work in concert. Alongside this, a new era of nuclear energy will only be delivered at pace if there is a greater understanding and partnership between sectors. Lessons can, and should be, drawn from international benchmarking on what has and hasn’t worked elsewhere. The key ingredient on both fronts will be long-termism from all leaders involved.   

Growth defined by world-class infrastructure 

The Civil Aviation Bill, the Highways Bill, and the Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill all support the development of infrastructure to enable growth across the UK. Historically, we know the UK has been slow to invest in infrastructure. With the focus now firmly on these new projects, the imperative will be on leaders to deliver on time and on budget. There have been many hard-earned lessons from high-profile infrastructure projects of the last few decades that should inform a new approach to delivery. It will only happen through genuine cross-sector collaboration.   

Public sector reform 

NHS and court reforms, alongside the Civil Service's delivery, accountability, innovation, and productivity, all featured in the speech. More focused, streamlined procurement will be needed to enable this, but, more widely, the focus needs to be on benchmarking across government and sectors. The productivity gains will only be achieved through leaders actively sharing what they have learnt from adopting new technologies and openly discussing what good transformation looks like, whether in the public, private, or civil society sectors. 

All of the above points lead to the same conclusion: leaders must work together more effectively. That will require the skill set, mindset and capabilities to work across sectors and drive tangible delivery.

From our 2025 State of Cross-sector Collaboration Survey, we know that 92% leaders believe that cross-sector collaboration can support economic growth and positive policy outcomes. Yet, there is a real delivery gap, with only 12% rating the current state of cross-sector collaboration as 'Good' or 'Excellent’.  

Leaders, now more than ever, need to come together to deliver on the hefty agenda laid out in the King’s speech. That requires a trusted cross-sector community, and this is where WIG will play its part.