Will Labour's 'new deal for workers' divide the party?

According to the government’s website, various departments are working on more than 35 bills in advance of the King’s Speech tomorrow, which will outline the legislative programme for the year ahead.

- SEAN O'GRADY

The law to enact Labour’s “New Deal for Working People” will come under scrutiny. This was originally Angela

Rayner’s project and was launched at the Labour conference in 2021.

However, since then some of the provisions have been watered down, and Rayner’s personal responsibility for the new deal seems to have passed to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds. Some in the trades unions and on the left of the party fear that business interests have already had too much say over the new law, and may yet weaken it still further.

What’s the problem?

Unions are so concerned that the government will further weaken its new law that they have spoken out in public. The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, warns: “British voters across the political spectrum want work to pay and to feel secure and respected in their jobs. Labour’s workers’ rights plans are hugely popular, and this poll should give ministers confidence to get on with delivering them in full.”

To bolster its case, the TUC has commissioned a public opinion poll that shows a majority of Labour, Conservative and Reform supporters, respectively, support measures including giving workers protection against unfair dismissal from day one of a job, banning zero-hours contracts, and ending “fire and rehire”.

What will happen?