India, May 14 -- King Charles III, on Wednesday, will deliver the British Government's legislative programme for the coming year to lawmakers with all the pomp and historic trappings that accompany the ceremonial opening of Parliament.

The question is whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be around to implement it and, even if he remains in post, whether he will have the authority to push his proposals through. The embattled prime minister has been urged to set a timetable for his departure by more than a fifth of the Labour Party's lawmakers in the House of Commons.

Some junior ministers have quit the Government in protest, but no one has yet challenged Starmer directly.

Early on Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is on...