Labour’s employment rights bill could substantially increase the party’s plunging popularity with Reform and former Conservative voters, but few are aware of the changes, new data by a pollster has suggested.
Among the most popular policies is on workers’ prevention from harassment, which has an extremely high favourability rating – despite significant criticism from Nigel Farage, Reform UK politicians and the Conservatives, who have sought to portray it as a “banter ban”.
The polling suggests the government’s low favourability could increase by up to 13 points – and by even more among Tory-to-Labour switchers and former Labour voters now likely to vote Reform.
The poll of 5,000 adults, commissioned by the TUC union, found only about a quarter of voters were aware of the reforms such as banning zero-hours contracts, ending fire-and-rehire, and introducing “day one” protections from unfair dismissal. Prevention of harassment – which makes that a legal duty for employers – is the second most popular policy after the ban on fire-and-rehire.
The reforms in the bill – which will come to the House of Lords on Tuesday – are also popular with Labour voters who have moved towards the Green party or independent MPs, increasing favourability by 11 points.
Peter McLeod, who ran polling for Labour in opposition, conducted the polling with his firm Hold Sway. He said: “There’s a huge number of voters out there that still know little to nothing about this legislation. The good news for...
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