Starmer accused of ‘complete betrayal’ by Labour backbenchers after workers’ rights U-turn

Sir Keir Starmer has been plunged into a fresh row with Labour rebels just days after a make-or-break Budget designed to ease pressure on his leadership, as ministers abandoned part of a flagship policy on workers’ rights.

Labour was accused of a “complete betrayal” by its own backbenchers after the U-turn on plans to give staff ‘day-one’ protections against unfair dismissal, which they say breaches the party’s own election manifesto.

The prime minister is now facing calls to scrap the climbdown amid warnings from one of the party’s largest donors, the union Unite, that his employment rights plan has become “a shell of its former self”.

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But businesses welcomed the move, and unions were split on the issue, with the TUC general secretary Paul Nowak backing the move and saying the “absolute priority” was to get the legislation on to the statute books as soon as possible.

The extraordinary row came after rebels welcomed Rachel Reeves’ swing to the left in a tax-raising Budget on Wednesday, which included a so-called “mansion tax” on high-value homes and the abolition of the controversial two-child benefit cap.

But there was fury just a day later after ministers axed the proposal to slash the “qualifying period” for workers to make an unfair dismissal claim, from 24 to six months, in a bid to get the legislation through Parliament after opposition in the House of Lords. Other ‘day-one’ rights, to paternity leave and sick pay, are still set to go ahead, however.

Leading rebel Labour MP Rachael Maskell said she was “deeply disappointed” by the U-turn, an intervention which could signal trouble for the government. Ms Maskell was one of 47 Labour MPs who rebelled against proposed welfare curbs in July, forcing Downing Street to back down.

Another rebel, MP Brian Leishman, told The Independent the move was “a broken promise. Totally unacceptable”, while Labour MP Justin Madders, a former government minister and an ally of Angela Rayner - who pioneered the legislation - accused the government of breaching its manifesto.

“It might be a compromise. It might even be necessary to get the bill passed [as soon as possible]. But it most definitely is a manifesto breach”, he said.

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But business secretary Peter Kyle denied the concession was a breach of Labour’s manifesto, claiming the way through had been found by “unions and the employers” and “it’s not my job to stand in the way of that compromise”.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson also denied the move had broken a manifesto promise, because Labour’s election document had committed to a consultation.

“In the manifesto, what we said was that we would work with trade unions, with business, with civil society, in consulting on those protections that we’d be bringing forward. So, there are both parts to that, within the manifesto, the important rights and the consultation”, she said.

But Ms Maskell condemned the move, saying: “I stood on a manifesto where we said we would put day one rights in place and that did include unfair dismissal, so of course I am deeply disappointed to hear these changes have been made.

“Above all, this is coming from the House of Lords, the unelected chamber.”

Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, Andy McDonald, branded the move a “complete betrayal” and vowed to push for its reversal.

He said: “We cannot support that halfway measure”, adding: “This is a wrong-headed move and I will campaign to have this concession reversed.”

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Kate Osborne, the MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, told the Independent: "Just a day after the Budget we are indicating that we are abandoning a manifesto commitment, it is deeply disappointing for a Labour Government with a majority of 200”, while her colleague Richard Burgon predicted business would “have scented blood and they'll now be pushing to further dilute this Bill”.

Labour MP for Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan, complained there had been “no discussion” with the parliamentary Labour Party about the move.

“The Lords don’t have primacy over a manifesto commitment, so why have we capitulated?”, he told the PA news agency.

Another Labour MP said the climbdown showed that Sir Keir and Ms Reeves were “weak” and had caved to external pressure, adding: “The shtick is this is a workers’ Budget for working people, and then one of your flagship programmes, you knock off a key part of it. It’s a manifesto breach.”

Unite boss Sharon Graham said the bill had become “a shell of its former self”, adding: “These constant row-backs will only damage workers’ confidence that the protections promised will be worth the wait. Labour needs to keep its promises.”

But TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the “absolute priority” now was to get the legislation passed.

“Following the government’s announcement, it is now vital that peers respect Labour’s manifesto mandate and that this bill secures royal assent as quickly as possible,” Mr Nowak said.

Clapham and Brixton Hill Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy told the BBC: “Rolling back now is a huge problem because if we’re rolling back now, what other tweaks are we going to accept? What else are we going to get pushed into? We’re literally the Labour Party.”

While former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said in a post on X: “Is this a sellout? Yes, it certainly is. If it’s unfair to sack someone, it’s unfair whenever it occurs, whether it’s day one or after six months. The principle is fairness.”

Business groups welcomed Thursday’s concession, saying the qualifying period of six months was “crucial for businesses’ confidence to hire and to support employment, at the same time as protecting workers”.

But they warned that firms would “still have concerns” about many of the powers within the bill, including thresholds for industrial action, guaranteed hours contracts and seasonal and temporary workers.

“We remain committed to working with government and unions to dealing with this in the necessary secondary legislation to implement the bill,” the six industry groups involved in discussions with trade unions said.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the move as “another humiliating U-turn” for Labour and said the legislation still contains “measures that will damage businesses and be terrible for economic growth”.