UK Government blame hereditary peers for workers’ rights vote loss in Lords

Business minister Sir Chris Bryant has blamed Conservative hereditary peers for the Government losing a vote on workers’ rights in the Lords on Wednesday.

The Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill has faced a further hold-up over a late change linked to the Government’s concession on unfair dismissal.

The latest setback means a continuation of so-called “ping-pong”, when legislation is batted between the Commons and Lords until agreement is reached, with the legislation now being sent back to the Commons for the fourth time.

In an attempt to end the stand-off, the Government recently ditched its election pledge to give employees day-one protection against unfair dismissal and instead accepted a six-month qualifying period for the workplace safeguard, demanded by the upper chamber.

However, alongside this it introduced at the 11th hour a measure to scrap the compensation caps for unfair dismissal, which are currently the lower of 52 weeks’ pay or £118,223.

The Labour administration insist this formed part of the compromise agreement reached with business groups and trade unions, although this is disputed.

With the clock ticking down to the Christmas recess, peers backed by 244 votes to 220, majority 24, a Tory call to force a review of the existing compensation limits, which ministers are seeking to remove.

The votes split down party lines, with 202 Conservatives voting for the amendment, while 144 Labour peers and 52 Liberal Democrats voted against, with other parties and crossbenchers making up the rest.

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Sir Chris said: “Why did we lose the vote last night? Twenty-five Tory hereditary peers. Why on earth would that be? Why do you think that they might not be willing to support Labour?”

The minister appears to be referring to the Government’s bid to oust all hereditary peers – those who are there by right of birth – from the chamber.

The Government’s House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill is set to remove the right for these bloodline peers to sit and vote in the Lords.

Of the 202 Conservative peers that voted against the Government’s plans to lift the cap on unfair dismissal compensation, 34 were hereditary peers.

Meanwhile, shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith criticised the Liberal Democrats for backing the Government, accusing them of voting with Labour in exchange for getting five new Liberal Democrats life peerages, which were announced on the same day as the vote.

He told MPs: “Five Lib Dems lords are leaping. That’s all it took for the Liberal Democrat party to throw every British business under the bus and expose them to the unimaginable liability of infinite tribunal payouts.

“It’s hard to think of a more anti-growth, anti-job measure.

“On Monday, the Liberal Democrat spokesman was against. On Wednesday, they were for. Goodness knows where they’ll be tomorrow.

“Does the Minister agree with me that British business would have an entirely fair case to dismiss the lot of them?”

Responding, Sir Chris said: “He seems to have lost the plot, frankly.”

Mr Griffith was reiterating what he claimed after the vote on Wednesday, that “the Lib Dems voted to throw every British business under the bus by backing Labour on its unemployment bill in return for a couple of extra peerages”.

He added: “They think firms should face unlimited tribunal payouts on top of the other damage from Labour’s 330-page red tape Bill, written by and for the trade unions.

“Thankfully, Conservatives opposed the measure and won. But businesses will never forget this shameful betrayal, and nor will the staff they are forced to lay off due to the costs of this disastrous legislation.”