Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

What do the Tories think about zero hours contracts? They don’t seem very keen to tell us…

MPs held a debate in Westminster Hall today about zero hours contracts. Actually, to be specific, Labour MPs held a Westminster Hall debate today, which Jo Swinson replied to as the employment minister. Adjournment debates aren’t often that newsworthy, but what made this debate noteworthy was that it marks another example of the Conservatives failing to respond to a social phenomenon, instead leaving a vacuum for Labour to stamp their own argument on it.

What do the Conservatives think about these contracts, under which workers are not guaranteed a set number of hours per week? You could probably guess that MPs on the right would say there is a compelling argument for labour market flexibility in a country with a comparatively generous welfare safety net. A free market argument would be that it is better that light employment regulation enables more people to stay in the labour market when harsh conditions mean jobs are more difficult to come by.

Isabel Hardman
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Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

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