A new poll of sitting Labour MPs has revealed their legislative priorities for the first time since the King’s speech, and one landmark bill receives a surprising response.

Labour MPs have set out their legislative priorites (Image: PA)

Polling firm Survation asked 102 Labour MPs, nearly one in four, to anonymously rank which upcoming legislation announced in the King’s speech is their priority over the coming months.

The highest priority for Labour MPs, according to the poll, is Ed Miliband’s controversial Great British Energy Bill, something that has been criticised for containing less detail than a takeaway leaflet.

Of those MPs who responded, 27% said it was their highest priority, 25% their second highest ranking priority and 15% their third.

In second was the Employment Rights Bill, with 57% placing it in their top three legislative priorities, despite concerns it will hammer small and medium-sized businesses by making it more difficult to hire and fire.

Sir Keir’s MPs have a surprising bill they don’t seem bothered about (Image: Getty)

Third is the Crime and Policing Bill, which will bring in new recruitment for neighbourhood and community support officers.

Despite immigration frequently ranking as the public’s top priority, Labour MPs only ranked the upcoming Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill in fourth place, with just one in ten ranking it as their top priority over the coming months.

Plans to improve renters’ rights, bring the railways back into public ownership, a new skills bill, anti-terrorism legislation, and new victims and courts legislation came in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Survation’s poll revealed Labour MPs’ top priorities (Image: Survation)

Coming in in dead last is the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, despite Sir Keir’s announcement just this month that he plans to ban smoking in pub gardens and other public spaces.

Just four Labour MPs ranked this in their top three priorities over the coming months.

The poll was published just a week before Labour MPs head up to Liverpool for their annual conference, which will see Sir Keir enjoy a victory parade following his election win in July.

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Now Liberal Democrats want even more criminals spared jail

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey arrives at his party conference (Image: Getty)

Liberal Democrats are set to call for hundreds of criminals to be spared jail.

The plea comes despite warnings that the early release of prisoners last week risks more “serious offences” taking place.

Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael will tell activists that fewer people should be locked up because prisons are “overcrowded, understaffed and unable to properly rehabilitate offenders”.

He will present a motion to the party’s annual conference in Brighton calling for “a presumption against short sentences of 12 months”.

It would mean criminals currently given sentences of a year or less are given “rehabilitation in the community” instead.

There are 3,043 people in jail with sentences of 12 months or less. Shorter sentences are often handed out for crimes such as shoplifting, common assault, assault of an emergency worker or possessing a knife.

Many inmates receiving shorter sentences are repeat offenders or have broken the terms of a suspended sentence.

Last week there were scenes of celebration and outside jails as 1,700 prisoners walked free early, after the Labour Government cut the length of time many inmates serve in jail from 50 percent of their sentence to 40 percent.

The Ministry of Justice said the move was essential because overcrowding had pushed jails to the “point of collapse” but Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation services, said “about a third” would re-offend.

And he warned: “This significant increase in releases will inevitably lead to increased risk of recall, of reoffending and, unfortunately, a small risk that serious further offences will take place.”

Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti said: “At a time when the public are worried about Labour releasing prisoners early, the Liberal Democrats want to go further and make sure criminals don’t go to jail in the first place.

“Such a presumption would be highly dangerous and is an effective green light for criminality.”

The Liberal Democrat conference opened yesterday with debates on ending Sunday trading restrictions and a call for the UK to sign up to an EU youth mobility scheme. The version backed by Lib Dems would give EU and British citizens aged 35 or under the automatic right to live or work in any part of the EU or UK.

Lib Dems are buoyant after once again becoming the third largest party in the House of Commons, giving their leader a guaranteed slot to question the Prime Minister each week and other perks such as the right to chair some Commons committees.