Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Rousing Rayner vows to end worker misery if party gains power
ANGELA Rayner promised a New Deal for working people within 100 days of a Labour Government, in a barnstorming speech at the opening of the party’s annual conference.
Internal rows over rule changes had provoked a bitter atmosphere among some delegates as the party faithful flocked to Brighton.
But the deputy leader’s energetic opening speech prompted loud applause.
Ms Rayner told attendees: “We must become the government our nation deserves, not the one it has.”
Launching the party’s Green Paper for working people, Ms Rayner said: “I’m not presenting you with a policy document that will sit on the shelf collecting dust.
“Let’s make this real and show every worker in every workplace in every corner of our country that with their support, their lives, their jobs and their communities can and will be better.”
The proposals include raising the minimum wage to at least
£10 an hour for all.
Ms Rayner also wants to extend full workers’ rights to all but the genuinely selfemployed – including sick pay, holiday pay, parental leave and protection against unfair dismissal. Flexible working would be a right for all, alongside the “right to switch off” outside of working hours.
And zero-hours contracts would be banned, with all workers having the right to a regular contract and predictable hours – with last-minute shift cancellations paid in full.
Ms Rayner added: “This Green Paper is for every parent tearing your hair out about childcare, or who missed a sports day or parents evening because you couldn’t come in and leave early.
“It’s for every young person who daren’t turn down a shift on a zero-hours contract because you might not get hours next week, who can’t take a break and can’t get sick.
“And it’s for every worker who went to work and never made it home, and for their families who will never see them again.” Jeremy Corbyn last night launched a scathing attack on Keir Starmer for trying to change Labour’s leadership election rules.
The former leader told a Young Labour rally: “Empowerment was promised to our movement, not stitching up the rules for elections.”