Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (Image: Getty)
Critics of Angela Rayner’s controversial workers’ rights overhaul will tomorrow celebrate “Norman Tebbit Day” in honour of Margaret Thatcher’s ally who took on the trade unions. Tory peers will use a debate in the House of Lords to make a fresh bid to amend the Employment Rights Bill, which is being spearheaded by the Deputy Prime Minister.
They want to change measures granting access rights for union officials and new electronic balloting for strikes. The peers are expected to raise fears that hostile states such as Russia, Iran and North Korea could cyber-hack the e-ballots.
Lord Tebbit, who died earlier this month aged 94, led Baroness Thatcher’s push to curb the power of trade unions to bring the country to a standstill.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith told the Mail on Sunday: “Angela Rayner’s extreme union charter will take us right back to the 1970s, a period Norman Tebbit fought tooth and nail to drag Britain out of.
“These laws will see the unions run rife, strangle private enterprise and grind the country to a halt.
“Most worryingly are measures which risk industrial sabotage. This goes against everything Tebbit fought for, and must be stopped at once.”
Ms Rayner’s workers’ rights Bill contains a raft of measures including banning zero-hours contracts, more flexible working and increased access to rights such as sick pay.
But opponents say it will hit businesses as it will make it harder and more expensive to hire workers.
It comes on top of a hike in national insurance for employers at last October’s budget.
Norman Tebbit and Margaret Thatcher (Image: Getty)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the Bill as “the single biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
A Government spokesperson said: “The old strike laws clearly didn’t work, with the UK losing more days to industrial action than any year since the 1980s.
“Instead of confrontation, we are ushering in a new era of partnership that sees employers, unions and government work together in co-operation and through negotiation.
“Our measures already have strong support amongst business and we’ve consulted extensively with and will continue to work closely with them to ensure new laws, including the right to guaranteed hours, work for them while putting money back into the pockets of working people.”
Major UK supermarkets warn of Rachel Reeves’ plans for fresh tax raid
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have warned that Rachel Reeves could speed up high street decline. (Image: Getty)
Bosses of two of the UK’s biggest supermarkets have warned that Rachel Reeves could threaten the high street with fresh tax raids. The Chancellor is expected to change the current business rates system in her next Budget, which is expected to leave department stores and supermarkets with higher tax bills.
Ministers argued that making bigger businesses pay more to reduce the fees for smaller ones would target online retailers and save independent shops. However, Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said the move would only add pressure to already struggling high streets and town centres. He said: “Increasing the burden on large shops would hinder rather than help our town centres. Many of these shops are anchor stores in their local communities.”
Tesco boss Ken Murphy warned of the effects of changing business rates. (Image: Getty)
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s CEO, warned that shaking up business rates would force large companies to “pull away from our high streets”.
He told The Telegraph: “The changes being proposed will further increase the negative impact of business rates and won’t stimulate the growth or investment into our high streets and jobs that we all want to see.
“The Government promised fundamental reform to level the playing field but the changes we are hearing about will not deliver this – they will not stimulate growth or investment.”
Alex Baldock, CEO of Currys, slammed Ms Reeves for “rushing” the proposed changes to business rates, warning of knock-on effects for retailers already struggling to stay afloat.
He warned that the changes would “shutter more stores” and “leave more gaps on the high street”.
Mr Baldock said shops already find themselves amid “a perfect storm” of “extra costs and red tape”, which is “bad for jobs, investment and growth”. The retail boss added: “The mooted hikes in business rates will just make things worse.”
The British Chambers of Commerce has already warned that businesses are being “paralysed” by taxes, with one in three slashing jobs following the employers’ National Insurance Contributions increase.
A Treasury spokesman said: “We are a pro-business Government that is creating a fairer business rates system to protect the high street, support investment and level the playing field.
“To deliver our manifesto pledge and provide certainty and support to the high street we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from next year.”
