Mental Health Act reform ditched, King’s Speech confirms

There will be no reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 before the next election, the government has confirmed.
Today’s King’s Speech – setting out the government’s last legislative programme before the election in 2024 or early 2025 – did not include a mental health bill, meaning any reform would have to be carried out by a future government, if at all.
It also means the Conservatives have broken their 2019 manifesto pledge to “legislate so that patients suffer