Helping people to work and delivering more rights for them in the workplace

The Labour Party, formed out of the trade union movement 125 years ago, has always been the party of work in Britain. Our values are built on a simple but powerful idea: that every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, should have the support they need to make the most of their lives.

I am proud to have been part of a team of MPs who helped steer through parliament the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in 50 years. The Employment Rights Bill will mean that the lowest paid will be eligible for sick pay for the first time and it will introduce disability pay gap reporting and extend equal pay rights to protect workers suffering discrimination on the basis of disability.

The Conservatives and Reform opposed every single one of these rights for workers.

Having delivered greater rights in the workplace, we now need to deliver the other side of the coin by helping more people into work by reforming our broken welfare system. The Labour Party laid the foundations of the welfare state and now it falls to us once again to make it work for a new generation.

After 14 years of failure, the Conservatives have left us with a system that is holding our people and our country back. 1 in 10 working age people now claim at least one sickness or disability benefit and close to 1 million young people are not in education employment or training.

Let’s be clear, Labour will always ensure there is a safety net for all of us. Not only will we always support those people that can’t work, we will go further by ending stressful reassessments for good.

For those that can work, we will remove the barriers holding them back, including introducing a ‘right to try’. This will give people the confidence to take on a job knowing that if it doesn’t work out, they won’t have to start from scratch.

We are also investing £1 billion into employment support. This is one of the largest ever investments in support to increase opportunities to work for sick and disabled people, guaranteeing high-quality, tailored support to help people back into work.

Our reforms are embedded in labour values and will get Britain working again.

I want to do all I can locally to support people into work as well. That is why I am hosting a Job’s Fair in April. Whether you’re looking for an apprenticeship or a new career then come along and talk to over 50 employers and education providers at High Peak’s Career, Skills and Jobs Fair on Friday 11^th April 10:30 – 14:30 at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton.