'Huge mandate': Brits of all political stripes want stronger rights for workers, poll finds

A workers' rights bill is set to be included in the upcoming King's Speech, and will see a crackdown on fire and rehire, a commitment to equal pay protections for minority ethnic and disabled workers, and flexible working rights

Brits “overwhelmingly” support plans to strengthen workers’ rights, a new Trade Union Congress poll has revealed, regardless of which party they support.

Labour’s New Deal for Working People was one of the party’s signature manifesto policies. Key policies included raising sick pay, banning fire and rehire, and cracking down on contracts that fail to offer workers a minimum number of guaranteed hours.

According to new TUC polling of 3,000 voters, such policies are popular among voters of all political stripes.

“Working people want a government that is on their side and that will improve the quality of work in this country,” said TUC general secretary Paul Nowak.

Three-quarters (77%) of 2024 voters support hiking the national minimum wage to become a ‘real living wage’.

This number rises to more than eight in 10 (85%) for Labour, Liberal Democrat (86%) and Green (86%) voters – and is hugely popular among 2024 Conservative (71%) and Reform voters too (77%).

Almost two in three (64%) people support protecting workers from unfair dismissal from day one. This includes eight in 10 (81%) Labour voters, followed by Green voters (79%), Lib Dems (70%), Conservatives (55%) and Reform supporters (57%).

And nearly seven in 10 voters (69%) back Labour’s plan to make statutory sick pay available from the first day of sickness.

These results provide the new government with an overwhelming mandate, said Nowak.

“After 14 years of stagnating living standards, the UK needs to turn the page on our low-rights, low-pay economy that has allowed good employers to be undercut by the bad,” he added.

The workers’ rights bill is set to be included in the upcoming King’s Speech, and will see a crackdown on fire and rehire, a commitment to equal pay protections for minority ethnic and disabled workers, and flexible working rights.

Labour faced criticism from unions after diluting its pledge to ban zero-hours contracts. Instead of banning the arrangement, workers will now be able to ‘opt’ to stay on zero hours.

According to the TUC polling released today (15 July), the public support an end to these precarious work arrangements.

Nearly seven in 10 (67%) voters support banning zero-hours contracts by offering all workers a contract that reflects their normal hours of work and compensation for cancelled shifts. Labour voters (76%) are most supportive, followed by, Conservative voters (67%), Reform voters (72%), Green voters (71%) and Liberal Democrat voters (69%). 

Separate polling released by IPPR today appears to corroborate the TUC results on workers’ rights.

Every constituency in the UK has a majority or plurality of people who believe workers’ rights should be strengthened, the 20,000 person MRP survey showed.

“Among Labour voters, 72% of Labour voters support this, including almost two-thirds (65%) of Conservative to Labour switchers,” the IPPR report reads.

“This should give Labour confidence in pursuing its New Deal for Working People agenda in the face of a small but vocal minority in the media who were attacking it during the campaign.”

“[The government] must make the most of the coming years when its political capital will be highest.”

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