Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill is still taking heavy flak from Britain’s business leaders – a new survey from the Institute of Directors this morning reveals 72% of nearly 500 directors believe the legislation will harm UK economic growth. Who would have thunk it from Rayner’s big, beautiful bill?
It gets worse:
Unions are heavily in support while businesses report the added regulation will only exacerbate the sting from Reeves’ tax rises. The IoD’s chief policy advisor Alex Hall-Chen said:
“The Employment Rights Bill, in conjunction with the recent increase in employer National Insurance Contributions and above-inflation increases to the National Living Wage, is significantly damaging business hiring intentions and confidence in the UK economy. This research clearly shows that the Bill will undermine the government’s key aims of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7 and achieving an 80% employment rate.”
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith added “if Labour had worked in business they would know their choices mean that British workers will lose their jobs to robots and foreign workers.” His Majesty’s Cabinet of union stewards and complaints managers…
It’s a step forward from Kemi Badenoch today who is unveiling some immigration relevant policy in a speech on the ECHR. The Tories have launched a review into leaving led by Lord Wolfson KC, which will report back at conference…
Lord Wolfson is one of the leading lawyers on the right – there is no doubt that the review will be credible. The process has the advantage of helping with party management – it will be easier for the Tories (should they decide they support leaving the ECHR) to maintain the position if proper work has been done. Crucially, it will provide the ladder needed for many wet Tories – who privately don’t think the UK should leave – to climb down and change their view. Remember, according to one poll, only a third of Tory members actually want to exit the Convention…
As it did when deciding its policy on Starmer’s Brexit deal, the party has set several ‘tests’ by which it will decide whether the ECHR should be ditched. The review also focuses on how to replace it with a British bill of rights…
The only problem is – err – the reality of the polls and recent elections. Reform has been consistently clear it wants to leave the ECHR. It has made that policy the core of its platform on immigration and law and order, and Farage consistently campaigned to leave the Convention when the Tories were in government. As of this month, Reform has been consistently polling ahead of the Conservatives for a year – during which the Tories have not had a clear position on the ECHR (though Robert Jenrick was the first to say Britain should quit). Most voters, when asked, now consider Reform to be the main opposition party. It is four months until conference – during that period forecasts say the UK will receive the highest ever number of small boat migrants. A legal policy development process or handling exercise for pro-ECHR Tories is not a communications strategy or campaign relevant to voters. The party is near electoral extinction – can it afford to wait four months to catch up with Reform on this?
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice spoke to journalists after Reform’s surge to 26.1% of the vote (third place) in the Hamilton by-election for Holyrood:
“We’ve outperformed everybody’s expectations we’ve run a brilliant campaign we’ve had a great candidate yeah we’re thrilled to bits and I expect the other two main parties will be reflecting ‘goodness me what have we got wrong that someone could come from nowhere with limited resources and achieve such an outstanding result’.”
He said “It’s a three-horse race for Holyrood next year.” Reform’s surging result comes after Farage avoided Scotland during the 2024 General Election campaign. The next Holyrood elections are on 7 May 2026…
On Zia Yusuf’s resignation Tice said:
“I’m sad Zia has resigned. I haven’t spoken to him. I’ve sent him a message. I think we should have a debate about whether the burqa is appropriate – in a Christian country where women shouldn’t be second class citizens.”
Farage’s reflections last night concluded that Yusuf was tired of the abuse and the cutthroat nature of politics, being a businessman. He had enemies on the inside…
It’s a victory for Labour in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. Tight margins…
A 26% result for Reform will leave the party smiling. The SNP’s majority of 4,582 in 2021 has been overturned by Labour’s Davy Russell who took the seat. Alarm bells for the SNP…
Yusuf has resigned. He says on X:
“11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results. I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.”
A big moment for Reform…
UPDATE: Farage says:
“I am genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK Chairman.
As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1st and is an enormously talented person.
Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life.”
UPDATE II: A Tory source tells Guido:
“Nigel Farage tells us he wants to run the country, he can’t even run a party small enough to fit in a Nissan Micra. Will the last person in Reform UK who isn’t Farage please turn out the lights?”
Unite has just announced that the bin strikes will continue and could go on until Christmas. Circa 400 striking bin-men voted in favour of further action…
General secretary Sharon Graham said:
“After smearing these workers in public since January and telling them to accept a fair and reasonable offer that never existed, the council finally put a proposal in writing last week… It had been watered down by the government commissioners and the leader of the council despite them never having been in the negotiations… It beggars belief that a Labour government and Labour council is treating these workers so disgracefully… Unite calls on the decision makers to let common sense prevail in upcoming negotiations.”
Unite says it could drag this on until Christmas if its demands aren’t met. They might be hoping for help from the Chancellor, who supported bin strikes in her own constituency in the past. Graham says it snow problem for the union to keep going…
Graham has also today said Labour should “stop digging” and reverse the winter fuel payment cuts in full: “You can’t leave pensioners in limbo while you work out plans for taxing the families of the deceased – just reverse it now.” Merry Christmas Keir…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”