Whatever the PM does seems to backfire on him. His latest move is no different.
Keir Starmer has just increased the threat from Angela Rayner (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer has watered down a flagship piece of legislation aimed at boosting workers’ rights, and he was right to do so. It’s not often I say that, but he was. The problem is, I’m not sure it’s going to do him any good.
For once, the problem isn’t the PM. It lies in the Labour party, which is in a fevered, rebellious state. You’d think MPs and activists would be grateful to Starmer for winning power with an absolutely massive majority. You’d think they’d be delighted to see him spend, nationalise, hike public sector pay and drive up the benefits bill, just like Labour leaders did in the 1970s. But they aren’t.
Instead, they think he’s a sellout. A party traitor. An austerity-loving Tory suit in disguise. Unbelievably, the problem they have with his government is that it’s too right wing.
They’ve already forgotten that he scrapped the two-child benefit cap on Wednesday, something they were crying out for. Now they’re furious at something else he’s just done.
This is doubly bad news for Starmer as the outcry will give a massive boost to his biggest challenger: Angela Rayner. Because the legislation he’s just shot down is hers.
The Employment Rights Bill, as it’s known, is Red Ange’s beloved political baby. It aims to give workers and unions a whole heap of new rights and make bosses’ lives a misery.
Labour loves it, business hates it, and one clause in particular: the promise to give workers protection against unfair dismissal from day one, alongside new rights to sick pay and parental leave.
Today, they have to wait two years. Most of the continent has settled on six months, which sounds about right. And that’s what Starmer is aiming at.
But Rayner wanted to hand employees enormous powers to launch legal action against employers, even if they’d only been on the payroll a few hours. And she refused to compromise, even though the bill is expected to cost employers £5billion in extra legal costs and disputes.
Employers are already reluctant to hire young people, thanks to Rachel Reeves‘s lunatic £25billion jobs tax and two inflation-busting hikes to the minimum wage.
The day one provision will make them even more nervous about taking on young people. Especially those with mental health issues or troubled backgrounds. Which means still more people locked out of the job market.
Starmer’s intervention should allow the Bill to pass without getting stuck in Parliamentary logjams. It’s horse trading, normal in government. Except nothing is normal when Angela Rayner is involved.
She’ll be furious that her day-one idea has been scaled back. Labour MPs are in revolt too.
Some have branded it a betrayal and breach of manifesto promises. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell called it a “sellout,” though he yells that every time Starmer adjusts his tie.
All of which shines the spotlight on Angela Rayner. She already has a fraught relationship with Starmer, and backbench MPs and activists will inevitably rally to her side.
Starmer has somehow delivered the right policy outcome while making his biggest political challenger even stronger. It’s a mad result, one only Labour could produce. With this rabble behind him, Starmer doesn’t have a chance. Nor do the rest of us. But that’s great news for Angela Rayner.
