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May 13 (UPI) — King Charles III set out the British government’s legislative program at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday, focusing on expediting new agreements on closer U.K.-EU economic ties, tackling the cost of living, boosting defense AI and tech innovation and easing financial sector regulation.

The king’s 17-minute speech in the House of Lords referenced 37 bills in total, including legislation to renationalize British Steel, a Competition Reform Bill to fast-track reviews by the competition watchdog and a bill to help small businesses by hiking the interest suppliers can charge clients that fail to pay on time.

Charles opened his address with the geopolitical situation, saying Britain faced threats from an “increasingly dangerous and volatile world,” with the conflict in the Middle East the most recent example, and warned every “element of the nation’s energy, defense and economic security” would be challenged.

Honing in on the economy, Charles said the government would harness the power of the state “in partnership with business and enable reforms that support higher growth and a fair deal for working people.”

“My Government believes that the United Kingdom’s economic security depends on raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. My Ministers will support measures that maintain stability and control the cost of living. They will use public investment to shape markets and attract further private investment,” he said.

The speech pledged progress on airport expansion and highway infrastructure projects and a Northern Powerhouse Rail program to better connect the big cities in the north with each other and the rest of the country, along with reforms to the police, National Health Service and criminal justice system.

An immigration and asylum bill was also promised to help tackle the issue of migrants and asylum seekers arriving on small boats.

One issue that received no mention was cutting welfare spending, an area where the Labour administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer has twice been forced to back down in the face of his own MPs since coming into office in 2024.

While the address is called The King’s Speech, it is purely ceremonial with the speech actually given to him by the government to read out.

It was Charles’ third time to open parliament, a historic tradition that dates back to the 16th century as a way to periodically bring together three normally separate elements of British polity: the democratically elected members of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown.

The proceedings include Buckingham Palace taking an MP “hostage” to ensure the king is returned unharmed and a “search” of the basements of the Palace of Westminister for dynamite by the King’s ceremonial Yeomen bodyguards, a throwback to the gunpowder plot to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605.

Wednesday’s opening of parliament comes amid a leadership crisis at the top of government with scores of Starmer’s own MPs demanding he either stand aside or set a timetable for his departure after the party suffered heavy losses in local elections on Thursday.

“There’s deep uncertainty as to whether Starmer will be leading the government over the next 12 months or so. So it’s a bit of a paradox,” Craig Prescott, an expert in the constitutional and political role of the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London, told NBC News.

Starmer has insisted he is staying put and will lead his party into the next election, not a big stretch given his 165-seat parliamentary majority and that no MP or cabinet member has mounted a formal challenge to his leadership.

Nevertheless, Prescott described the parliament into which the king ventured on Wednesday as “febrile.”

“The politics of all this is a bit too close for comfort,” he said.

The BBC said allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting had told it that he would formally challenge Starmer as early as Thursday. The pair held talks in Downing Street early Wednesday but there was no word on the outcome of their meeting.

Towering superstar Victor Wembanyama toppled onto his face Tuesday night — timberrr!!! — and the NBA playoff scenario immediately became as scrambled as the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 center’s thoughts must have been moments after he suffered a concussion.

Without Wembanyama for nearly three quarters, the Spurs fell to the underdog Portland Trail Blazers, 106-103, with the first-round series tied 1-1 and headed to Portland for Game 3 on Friday.

Meanwhile, without superstar guard Luka Doncic, the Lakers powered past the Houston Rockets, 101-94, to take a 2-0 series lead. Guard tandem Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard combined with the ageless LeBron James to make up for the absence of injuries to Doncic as well as fellow starting guard Austin Reaves.

Peering forward, an extended absence by Wembanyama would seem to place the Spurs in serious jeopardy of a first-round exit. After all, “Wemby” is the league’s defensive player of the year in addition to averaging 25 points and 11.5 rebounds a game. He is a two-way force of unprecedented magnitude.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have responded to the loss of Doncic so well that Times columnist Bill Plaschke declared “believe it, this series is already over” after their Game 2 victory Tuesday night. The absence of Doncic and his 33.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds a game was masked by the exceptional play of teammates.

Does that make Wembanyana more valuable than Doncic? Does it raise Wembanyana’s NBA Most Valuable Player credentials to the level of fellow finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic?

That’s a topic worth debating on another day. For now, the pertinent questions are how severely Wembanyana is injured and how long will he be sidelined. The Spurs and Trail Blazers play Game 3 on Friday night, Game 4 on Sunday and Game 5 on Tuesday night. The median time lost to concussion in the NBA is seven days.

“He has a concussion and he is in the protocol,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said afterward. “We’ll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps.”

A player in concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and undergo neurological testing while meeting certain criteria without symptoms before being cleared to play. A decision on clearance will come from the NBA concussion protocol director Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher in consultation with the Spurs’ team doctor.

The injury occurred early in the second quarter. After backing into the paint with the ball, Wembanyama turned to explode toward the basket. Portland defender Jrue Holiday executed a maneuver termed “pulling the chair” — moving completely away from the Spurs center, who clearly was expecting contact.

Wembanyama lurched forward, toppled and slammed the right side of his face on the floor. He stayed down for several seconds before sitting up and putting his hands on his face. Television analyst Reggie Miller exclaimed, “He is dazed.” Wembanyama finally stood and jogged directly to the locker room. He did not return.

Meanwhile at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and Reaves cheered from the bench throughout the Lakers’ inspired dismantling of the Rockets. Smart scored 25 points and Kennard added 23.

“I know we just kind of flipped the switch,” Kennard said. “We told each other, this is what we got right now. We’ve got to believe in what we have.”

Added Smart: “The word is, ‘elevate’ for us, and that’s all we’ve been trying to do, is elevate our play on both ends.”

Wembanyana’s backup is Luke Kornet, who has played for six teams since going undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017. He was effective during a 14-minute stint in the Spurs’ Game 1 victory over Portland and had 10 points and nine rebounds in Game 2 after Wembanyana exited. He’ll need to step up the way Smart and Kennard have for the Lakers.

Injuries are inevitable. How teammates respond when a superstar is sidelined provides insight on multiple levels. So far, the loss of Doncic — and Reaves — has been overcome by the Lakers while the loss of Wembanyama could cripple the Spurs.