Businesses’ hopes are growing that the flagship package of employment rights championed by Angela Rayner will be diluted following her downfall after Labour figures claimed discussions had already begun in Downing Street.
People familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that the legislation was vulnerable now that the former deputy prime minister, its key champion, has left power — setting up a potential battle with leftwingers and unions.
Rayner, who is close to trade union leaders, was the most heavyweight cabinet figure to back the reforms to employment law.
The bill is one of the centrepieces of the government’s agenda, cracking down on practices such as zero-hours contracts and “fire and rehire”. But it has caused concern among business leaders who say it will create new costs and risks, on top of recent tax and minimum wage increases.
The government’s own impact assessment suggested it would impose 5bn annual costs on the corporate world.
One senior Labour figure said some people who work in Number 10 were trying to “kill” key parts of the bill, “having spotted Angela’s difficulties”.
“There’s a huge amount that is still to be determined through SIs [statutory instruments] and [House of] Lords concessions but it’s a widely held conversation that is taking place in No10,” the senior Labour figure said. “I know for certain this conversation has taken place in multiple meetings . . . Angela fought incredibly hard to offer no concessions whatsoever.”
Another...
Claims that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman first emerged online in 2021 and have since gone viral. “Two billion people have been exposed to this story in French and 2.5 billion in English,...