Sir Keir Starmer has claimed the Conservatives are the “coalition of blockers” as he defended his Government’s growth proposals and employment law reforms.
The Prime Minister highlighted opposition to airport expansion and a rail project from Tory frontbenchers, which prompted Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch to brand Labour “hypocrites” for raising their own objections in the past.
Sir Keir, who dubbed the Government the “coalition of builders”, was also urged by Mrs Badenoch to drop a series of measures contained in the Employment Rights Bill because they “fail his growth test”.
After Mrs Badenoch told Sir Keir to “stop being a lawyer and start being a leader”, the Prime Minister replied: “We know she is not a lawyer, she is clearly not a leader, if she keeps on like this, she is going to be the next lettuce.”
His remark was a nod to Liz Truss’s 49-day long premiership, which saw the Daily Star live-stream a lettuce to see if it would last longer than her tenure in No 10.
The Bill raised at Prime Minister’s Questions includes measures to introduce day-one protections from unfair dismissals, make changes to sick pay and ensures guaranteed hours on zero-hours contracts.
The exchanges in the House of Commons came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves had outlined the Government’s growth agenda, which includes backing a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Mrs Badenoch said the Government has “embraced a series of Conservative policies” before urging Sir Keir to “drop” the Bill as it “clearly fails the Prime Minister’s growth test”, adding Whitehall analysis suggests it will cost businesses £5 billion a year.
Sir Keir said the Government was “not taking lectures” from the Conservatives.
Mrs Badenoch said the legislation would make it “harder for business to hire new employees”, adding: “This isn’t an employment Bill. It’s an unemployment Bill. Given these clauses, will he drop his Bill and show that he is not anti-growth?”
The Prime Minister replied: “We believe in giving people proper dignity and protection at work. That’s why we’re proud of our record of supporting workers. They consistently vote against any protection for working people.”
Tory leader Mrs Badenoch later said “all of his ideas are the ones that we thought up”, adding to Sir Keir: “To grow our economy we must get more people off sickness and welfare and into work. Clauses eight and nine of the unemployment Bill take us in the opposite direction by increasing entitlement.
“His Government itself estimates that these changes will increase business costs from £600 million to £1 billion-a-year in sick pay. That will mean higher prices, fewer jobs, less growth.
“Will he drop these measures from the Bill?”
Sir Keir replied: “No, I think they’re good for workers and good for growth.
“This is the same argument they made against the minimum wage and every protection for workers. And she says they’re their ideas – she says she’s in support of a third runway at Heathrow, her shadow transport secretary (Gareth Bacon) says it would be calamitous, her shadow business secretary (Andrew Griffith) is busy writing letters opposing airport expansion in his own backyard.
“The shadow chief secretary (Richard Fuller) says the Oxford-Cambridge (rail link) is flawed and he’s against it.
“We’re the coalition of builders, they’re the coalition of blockers.”
Mrs Badenoch said Sir Keir was forgetting that Ms Reeves “blocked an airport” in her Leeds West and Pudsey constituency, adding: “They are hypocrites.
“Let’s talk about this employment Bill. Part one of the Bill means a new employee could start a job in the morning and take their employer to a tribunal that afternoon.
“It is no wonder that this Bill has been called an adventure playground for lawyers. This Bill is terrible for business but is great employment for lawyers.
“I know the Prime Minister loves the legal profession but he needs to stop being a lawyer and start being a leader. This is another measure in the Bill that fails his growth test.
“Will he show some leadership and drop it?”
Sir Keir replied: “I understand she likes straight talking, she is talking absolute nonsense. She knows that anybody that understands anything about the Bill or any employment law will know you can’t start in the morning and go to the tribunal in the afternoon.
“Now, we know she is not a lawyer, she is clearly not a leader, if she keeps on like this, she is going to be the next lettuce.”
Mrs Badenoch said the Bill also delivers the “biggest expansion of trade union powers for a generation”.
After some Labour MPs cheered, Mrs Badenoch said: “Exactly, thank you, the public will have heard them cheer.
“Rather than deregulating for business who create growth, he’s deregulating for the unions. Clause 61 alone reduces the notice period for strikes to just one week.
“Given strikes are catastrophic for growth, will he drop part four of the Bill?”
Sir Keir, in his reply, said: “It’s good for working people, it’s good for the economy.”
Mrs Badenoch went on to accuse Sir Keir of “arrogance” for thinking the Government creates growth rather than business.
She said: “Other countries are serious about freeing business from red tape. President Trump is doing it in America, Argentina is taking a chainsaw to regulations. Even the EU is not going as far as this left-wing Government.
“This Bill will put us at the bottom of the pack.”
Sir Keir replied: “She’s got a nerve. They broke the economy, completely destroyed it. They broke the health service, completely destroyed it. They ruined us on prisons and everything else you can mention, they failed on every front, they’re in no position to give us lectures on anything.”
