Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

David Anderson Excerpts

Wednesday 17th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller]

The hon. Gentleman, too, makes a good point. I have read the evidence given to the Public Bill Committee, and it was not sufficiently evidentiary to move Mr Beecroft’s point forward. However, the hon. Gentleman will know that developed economies are currently having trouble with how to increase employment as they come out of recession. In the United States and the United Kingdom, it is taking us longer to create jobs as the economy recovers. It is therefore imperative that we look at the evidence, to see whether we wish to promote the Beecroft proposals. That is why we need a deeper and more serious debate than just talking about poor evidence in a Public Bill Committee or anecdotal evidence somewhere else, and one without name-calling.

[Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman makes the exact point that we constantly made in the Public Bill Committee. Given what he is saying, surely we should stop this debate and then take a view one way or another when we have got the evidence. At the moment, everything that the Government are doing is based on views that are not evidence-based.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Anderson]

I had the privilege of serving on the Committee and I have been present during the House’s consideration of the Bill over the past two days. Nothing that we have heard has been evidence-based. We have heard anecdotes, impressions, perceptions, feelings and conversations. During a Committee evidence session, I asked Adrian Beecroft where his empirical evidence was, and his answer—this is in the Official Report— was, “Um.” That is how little evidence he has.

There has been nothing new in the past few days to change that perception, and why is that? Because the Chancellor’s fingerprints are all over this Bill. The part-time Chancellor, part-time political strategist has told people to sell their rights to get shares, and employers are now able to tell people to sell their rights so that they can sack them without any worries. But there are worries and we have heard them today. When asked whether people who volunteer to go would be able to claim jobseeker’s allowance and whether those with mortgage protection would be affected, the Government’s Front-Bench representatives had not even thought of it. They had to run to the officials’ Box to get an answer, because they do not live in the real world. We also heard some crass comments about health and safety yesterday. There were anecdotes about a bottle of bleach in a cupboard and the Minister made comments about school trips and health and safety. They have absolutely no idea what it is like in the real world.

The Secretary of Sate should be present. I think that the reason why he is not is that he is ashamed of this Bill, because he does not agree with what is being done in his name. He has gone from being the sage of Twickenham to being the stooge of Westminster. He is the invisible man in this place—we do not know where he is.

Members should read today’s Daily Mirror, which includes a quote from Jimmy Savile’s assistant, who worked for him for 32 years. When he sacked her, he told her:

“Today’s today, tomorrow’s tomorrow, I’ve got a train to catch.”

Under this Bill, that will become the norm for employers in this country. They will be able to dismiss their employees with the wave of a hand. I say to Government Members, particularly the Liberal Democrats, who should know better, that Jimmy Savile would be proud of them tonight.