UK Labour can be ‘pro-worker and pro-business’ says shadow education minister

UK Labour will be “pro-worker and pro-business”, a shadow minister has said after reports the party had watered down its commitment to strengthen the rights of gig economy employees.

The FT reported Labour has scaled back its commitments to bolster workers’ rights in an attempt to woo corporate backers, including by diluting its pledge to strengthen gig worker rights.

Asked about the reports by Sky News, PA Media reports shadow education minister Stephen Morgan he could not comment, but added: “Labour set out its five national missions. That has been approved by our national policy forum in July.

“Obviously we will set out more detail in our manifesto, but the Labour party can be pro-worker and pro-business.

“We have got a really good relationship with business now, we can be trusted to run our economy and to run our country, and we have got a set of policies which are pro-worker too.”

Key events

Rayner: ‘far from watering down’ employment policy, Labour promises to legislate improved rights within 100 days

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has said that “far from watering down” the party’s commitments to improve workers’ rights, it will be setting out “in detail how we will implement” changes, and promised the party would legislate to protect rights within 100 days of coming into office.

Her long thread on social media comes off the back of reports today in the FT that the party is planning to water down some of its previous policy positions. Rayner wrote:

Labour’s New Deal for Working People will be the biggest levelling-up of workers’ rights in decades – providing security, treating workers fairly, and paying a decent wage.

We’ll tackle insecure work by banning zero-hours contracts, ending fire and rehire and ending qualifying periods for basic rights, which currently leave working people waiting up to two years for basic protections.

We’ll make work more family friendly by making flexible working a day one right except where it isn’t reasonably feasible, strengthening protections for pregnant women and by urgently reviewing parental leave.

And we’ll make sure work actually pays with a genuine living wage that covers the cost of living, ensuring fair tips, boosting collective rights – and by speeding up the closing of the gender pay gap.

I’m proud that we developed our comprehensive New Deal together with Labour’s affiliated unions. Far from watering it down, we will now set out in detail how we will implement it and tackle the Tories’ scaremongering.

Tackling bogus self-employment is a key priority for a Labour Government, and stronger protections against unfair dismissal will mean workers can no longer be sacked without reason from day one.

I’m delighted to be in Scotland this week – meeting apprentices in Glasgow – to explain why only Labour can deliver a New Deal for Working People in Scotland and across the UK. We know this will resonate in workplaces and on the doorstep.

The New Deal will be a core part of our manifesto and our plan for growth, raising living standards for all. We’ll bring forward legislation within 100 days of taking office.

Shadow education minister Stephen Morgan was inevitably also asked about Sunday’s licensing conundrum with the women’s World Cup final during the media round. He said pubs should be given flexibility.

Asked whether pubs should be allowed to start serving alcohol earlier than their licences allow on Sunday, PA Media reports Morgan said: “We could have seen this coming, they performed brilliantly and I’m really excited to be watching the game on Sunday.

“I appreciate what Michael Gove has done. I think that we’ve got to have a pragmatic, flexible approach so that people can enjoy the game in a local pub.”

He added: “I think they’ve got to be flexible, let’s be sensible. I think it makes sense.”

I’ll try not to write about the football all day, I promise, and I haven’t even touched yet on the Mail and the Sun getting vexed that prime minister Rishi Sunak and president of the FA Prince William haven’t dropped everything to be there in Sydney, in the way the papers argue they surely would have done if it had been the men in a World Cup final.

Having been admonished in the comments earlier in the week that this was meant to be a politics blog and not, I quote, “an England supporters’ sports blog”, I approach the next topic with some trepidation …

Michael Gove has written to councils across England to do everything they can to help venues seeking to extend their hours so they can serve beer while people watch England in the World Cup final on Sunday morning.

PA Media reports that in the Telegraph, Tory MP Damian Green, a member of the culture select committee said: “We wouldn’t think twice about doing it if the men’s team were playing a World Cup final so let’s do it on Sunday.”

But councils are unable to grant extensions to pubs that failed to apply by 11 August – when England had not even won their quarter-final tie.

A blanket change to licensing hours across England would require the approval of Parliament, which is not currently sitting as it is the summer recess – and demands for an emergency recall to Westminster have been dismissed. The Liberal Democrats had called for Rishi Sunak to recall Parliament to no avail.

Instead, the Government is urging local councils and police chiefs to do what they can to approve extensions.

Levelling Up secretary Gove said: “The whole nation is ready to get behind the Lionesses this Sunday in what is England’s biggest game since 1966.

“I’ve asked councils to do everything they can to help pubs get open earlier on Sunday, so people can come together and enjoy a drink before kick-off for this special occasion.”

A curmudgeon – i.e. me – might point out that we’ve known the date of the final since at least when the draw was made on 22 October 2022, the Lionesses have won both the European Championship and the Finalissima in the last 12 months suggesting they are quite good at this sort of thing, and maybe a bit of foresight could have been applied.

Friday’s newspaper front pages

Michael Parkinson features on a lot of front pages, but there is quite a varied selection of stories to go with tributes to him.

The Guardian led with A-level grades and the announcement that the CCRC is to open an investigation into the Andrew Malkinson case.

Here is the FT with that line on UK Labour apparently watering down its plans to reform employment law.

The Telegraph is complaining that France is stopping fewer migrants crossing the Channel than before.

The Times features that story about people being able to buy Covid boosters over the counter.

The Independent leads with the British Museum curator, as does the Daily Mail.

The Scotsman has a warning about arts funding.

The Daily Express lucky roulette wheel of front pages today landed on small boats, Brexit joy, pensions, Diana, Meghan, house prices, cutting taxes.

UK Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner was also drawn into discussion about what UK Labour has planned for workers when she visited Glasgow yesterday.

First minister Humza Yousaf had said on social media “Will Labour commit to full devolution of employment law should they form the next government?”

Rayner said “They won’t need it because I want employment law across the whole of the United Kingdom to be uplifted and better. That’s why we’ve got a new deal for working people. I want a new deal for working people to be here in Scotland so we have those protections of employment law.”

She added employment practices would be “in effect across the board” rather than split off across the four UK nations. And she said she did not want to see “disparities” across the different parts of the UK.

Here is a snippet from that FT report that UK Labour’s shadow education minister Stephen Morgan was being asked about this morning:

A pledge to boost the protection of gig economy workers was diluted by the party’s leadership at Labour’s national policy forum in Nottingham last month, according to people familiar with the matter and text seen by the Financial Times.

The text agreed last month will be published in the run-up to Labour’s annual conference in October and will form a menu from which it picks its manifesto pledges.

Passages seen by the FT showed that Labour has diluted its 2021 pledge to create a single status of “worker” for all but the genuinely self-employed, regardless of sector, wage or contract type.

Instead of introducing the policy immediately, Labour has agreed it would consult on the proposal in government, considering how “a simpler framework” that differentiates between workers and the genuinely self-employed “could properly capture the breadth of employment relationships in the UK” and ensure workers can still “benefit from flexible working where they choose to do so”.

Labour also clarified that its previously announced plans to introduce “basic individual rights from day one for all workers”, including sick pay, parental leave and protection against unfair dismissal, will “not prevent … probationary periods with fair and transparent rules and processes.”

UK Labour can be ‘pro-worker and pro-business’ says shadow education minister

UK Labour will be “pro-worker and pro-business”, a shadow minister has said after reports the party had watered down its commitment to strengthen the rights of gig economy employees.

The FT reported Labour has scaled back its commitments to bolster workers’ rights in an attempt to woo corporate backers, including by diluting its pledge to strengthen gig worker rights.

Asked about the reports by Sky News, PA Media reports shadow education minister Stephen Morgan he could not comment, but added: “Labour set out its five national missions. That has been approved by our national policy forum in July.

“Obviously we will set out more detail in our manifesto, but the Labour party can be pro-worker and pro-business.

“We have got a really good relationship with business now, we can be trusted to run our economy and to run our country, and we have got a set of policies which are pro-worker too.”

Welcome and opening summary

Welcome to today’s live coverage of UK politics. It is Friday. It is recess. There is nothing much in the diary. I’m not expecting a blistering day’s news to be honest. Here are your headlines:

  • High street banks will have to ensure customers can find access to cash within three miles of their local communities, and those falling below the minimum service level will face a fine, the government has confirmed.

  • The Ministry of Defence (MoD) must urgently tackle the impact of the climate crisis on its operations to make sure the capability of the UK armed forces is not eroded by rising temperatures and harsh climatic conditions, MPs have said.

  • Trade unions have called for a safer working environment for civil servants after it emerged that legionella, insect infestations and more than 100 sewage leaks were discovered in government buildings in the past year.

  • Covid booster vaccines are expected to become available for the UK public to buy for the first time after health officials supported the proposal. Pharmacists and private clinics will be allowed to offer jabs for sale on the high street, as they do with the flu vaccine. They are unlikely to be available in time for an autumn booster campaign but could become available next year.

  • Unusually wet weather impacted British retailers last month, pushing down sales by more than had been expected, the ONS reported.

  • Pubs across England are hoping a minister’s letter to councils across England means venues can open early for the World Cup final on Sunday. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has written to councils across England to do everything they can to help venues seeking to extend their hours for the game.

I am Martin Belam, and I will be with you today. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.


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