Today, Labour has reminded us all why it will always be the anti-business party. The Employment Rights Bill is the closest thing Keir Starmer has to a time machine, for it will send Britain careening back to the 1970s.
From making it easier for employees to strike and introducing an absurd ban on ‘banter’ in the workplace to heralding a return to chaotic picket lines, the shadow of Jeremy Corbyn looms large over the Labour party. It might be the first Bill in history that will achieve the exact opposite of what it says on the tin.
It has created a huge amount of uncertainty in the UK. However, one thing is certain: this Bill is a job killing bill. It will make the UK one of the least attractive places to invest, hire staff and run a company, while it has already sent business confidence plummeting.
Yet the fine print of the Bill sheds light on why Labour are so desperate to rush it through Parliament. Under the legislation, unions will have to opt out if they don’t wish to donate money to the Labour Party, while currently the default option is that they will not donate unless they opt in. Sacrificing small businesses at the altar of party coffers exposes this Bill for what it is: a grubby quid pro quo between the unions and a Prime Minister firmly in their pocket.
Despite opposition from businesses responding to the consultation, Labour ministers are ploughing on regardless, powered by ideological fervour and political self-interest. But, while they try to argue black is white, small businesses will have to face the reality of measures laser-focused on crushing them.
It will be much easier for unions to hold employers to ransom. The notice unions have to give for industrial action will be shortened to 10 days from 14, ‘swipe to strike’ e-ballots will be introduced, and only need 2 per cent of any workforce (down from 10 per cent) needs to be unionised to bargain with employers – meaning just one worker in 50 can throttle a business with industrial action.
Labour will also end flexible and seasonal hours that countless businesses and workers depend on. What sounds like a good idea when presented by the unions will result in poorer workers and understaffed businesses.
The reams of red tape set to hog-tie British business goes on. But like a mantra by George Orwell, one thing is clear throughout: unions good, business bad.
Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. They contribute £2.8 trillion every year and employ 16 million people.
But Starmer is crossing the street to fight with them to appease the barons who bankroll the Labour party.
They remain unflinching in the face of their own gloomy analysis. The figures, which shows it will slow growth, remove 50,000 jobs and cost businesses £5 billion, leaves Labour unmoved.
This Bill will sink the spirit of enterprise in Britain. What Labour will soon realise is that, in their ideological war on business, it is working people who pay the price through higher inflation, lower salaries and fewer jobs.
If Starmer meant it when he said he would put country before party, he should do the right thing and ditch this dreadful Bill before it’s too late.
– Andrew Griffith MP is Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade.