Angela Rayner has fueled the Labour leadership frenzy after forcing Keir Starmer to speed up the workers’ rights overhaul.
Ministers have agreed that the Employment Rights Bill will be implemented from January 2027 instead of October that year.
The timetable has been stepped up after Ms Rayner threatened to push a Commons amendment on a 2026 deadline.
During intense debate on the legislation last night, the former deputy PM sent a message to Sir Keir that the government must not ‘blink’ again – after humiliatingly ditching ‘day one’ rights to claim unfair dismissal to break a stand-off with the Lords.
Speculation has been running high about Ms Rayner’s intentions, with rumours of a ‘dream ticket’ deal with Wes Streeting.
Doubts have been mounting about the PM’s prospects of survival, with even the Labour Together think-tank that propelled him to power quietly asking local parties for views on a successor.
Angela Rayner has fueled the Labour leadership frenzy after forcing Keir Starmer to speed up the workers’ rights overhaul
Doubts have been mounting about Keir Starmer’s prospects of survival
Sir Keir has publicly said he wants Ms Rayner to return to Cabinet despite resigning over underpaying tax in September.
The ex-minister had intended to table an amendment which sought to bring forward the original deadline to 2026.
However, Ms Rayner withdrew the threat apparently after talks with Business Secretary Peter Kyle.
Business minister Kate Dearden told the Commons the change ‘strikes a balance between delivering on our promises for working people up and down this country, whilst not being stuck in parliamentary limbo for another year’.
Ms Dearden added: ‘To further strengthen these protections, the Government amendments also ensure that unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be varied by a future government through primary legislation, and that the compensation cap is removed.’
However, Labour MPs lined up to condemn the government for allowing the legislation to be watered down.
Ms Rayner said she was ‘frustrated’ by delays, adding: ‘For those in the other place, I say there is now no more time to waste.’
She continued: ‘It has been a battle to pass this Bill, but progress is always a struggle that we fought for.
‘Its passage will be a historic achievement for this Labour Government. It will benefit working people now and into the future.
‘Now is not the time to blink or buckle, let’s not waste a minute more, it’s time to deliver.’
Former frontbencher Andy McDonald put forward a motion to restore day-one rights to the Bill, saying the legislation had been ‘weakened’ by the Government’s removal.
He said: ‘If this legislation is to deliver a new deal for working people, this House must ensure the back door is not opened to dismantle it.
‘I urge ministers, even now, to reconsider, because they are making a profound mistake.’
The MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East went on to say: ‘There may be debate about other manifesto pledges, but on this, the breach is unmistakable.
‘Shadow ministers, (who are) now ministers, including the Prime Minister, called day-one rights the foundation of the largest uplift in employment protections for a generation.
‘Yet that promise is now being set aside.
‘We are told the shift from two years to six months protection reflects a negotiated balance between unions and businesses, with ministers standing back.
‘I do not accept that characterisation. The unelected chamber should not block mandates, and the Government should not capitulate to such pressure.’
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he believed the Government was ‘breaking a promise’.
Mr McDonnell said they needed to send a message to the Lords that there will be no further compromise on the legislation.
The Hayes and Harlington MP said: ‘We’ll sit as long as possible, if necessary to see it through.’
Labour MP Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) had also questioned why the day-one rights had been changed.
Ms Dearden said backbenchers had ‘good intentions’, adding: ‘But I will stress that our amendments, tabled as a package, reflect the agreement reached between business representatives and trade unions in a collaborative and constructive process.
‘We want to bring this Bill to a conclusion so that it benefits millions of British workers.’
Labour former business minister Justin Madders – a close ally of Ms Rayner – said it pained him to see a manifesto commitment ‘jettisoned’.
He added: ‘The Lords cannot keep coming back because they don’t like what is in this Bill, because this is a promise that we made to the British people, and we have to deliver on it. We have to let democracy win.’
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said the minister has ‘signed the warrant for a war on jobs’.
He added: ‘This isn’t a Bill for employment rights, it’s a charter for a jobless generation.
‘Thanks to the measures in this Bill, thousands of young people will struggle for opportunities because the rungs of the ladder have been sawn off.’