Dominic Raab managed to say "lootenant" on Radio Four. But now that he has put on the agenda the even more draconian anti-union laws for which Tony Blair and David Miliband have always longed, Ed Miliband should renew John Smith's promise to legislate for employment rights to begin on day one of employment and to apply regardless of the number of hours worked. Astonishingly, that never happened in 13 years of Labour Government.
He should also promise to build on the statutory right of every worker to join a trade union and to have that trade union recognised for collective bargaining purposes, by giving every trade unionist so recognised the statutory right to take industrial action in pursuit of a legitimate grievance, including strike action, and including solidarity action of a clearly secondary character (such as a work to rule in support of a strike) within a single industry or corporation.
And, intimately connected with the above, he should promise to abolish all remaining vestiges of Compulsory Competitive Tendering, of the capping of councils, and of the power of central government to rule local services ultra vires, as well as to defend council housing wherever tenants or local communities wish to retain it.
Electoral reform offers the prospect of a permanent body of MPs who could hold him and his successors to those commitments.
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Everyone on Planet Cameron would say it like that, they really do think that Britain is America. You have written about it yourself, television programmes apparently set in New York, apart from the accents and even those are Mid-Atlantic me-too. That is how the London media see the world and the Cameron Tories are entirely a product of the London media. They know nothing about Britain.
ReplyDeleteNotice how the Beeb could only find Bob Crow to put the case for workers' rights, as if he were typical.
ReplyDeleteThe Conservative MP, Dominic Raab, is proposing that key workers should not be allowed to strike until more than 50% of the members have voted in favour. What a good idea. But why stop there? Perhaps his next proposal will be that no law can be enacted in this country until more than 50% of MPs (key workers?) have voted for it. Or that we will not wage war on any country until more than 50% of MPs have voted for this. Or that no MP can take his/her place in Parliament until more than 50% of the local electorate have voted for them. I could go on but you will get the message.
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