Nigel Farage says cutting “red tape” boosts growth. Let's be honest about what that means: weaker paid leave, weaker sick and maternity pay, weaker anti-discrimination law, and more power to bad employers. I outline the real economic costs—turnover, lost expertise, and declining productivity—and explain why ordinary workers will suffer the consequences.

This is the transcript:

Why would anyone want to vote for Reform?

Why would anyone vote for Reform?

After all, Nigel Farage wants to strip workers of their rights, and I'm not talking about something like trade union rights here. I'm talking about the basic rights that you have when you are at work, if that's what you do.

Your entitlement to paid holidays would come under scrutiny if Reform was in power.

The employment protections that ensure that your employer cannot discriminate against you would be subject to review.

There would be a reduction in your rights to sick pay and maternity pay if Reform were in charge.

And who does benefit?

Certainly not you.

All of this is about making you more vulnerable to your employer and passing on the benefit to them.

Farage calls all these rights red tape. He says that they hinder business and growth, but they don't. They protect ordinary people. Ordinary people who take the risk of going to work for one employer and put all their eggs in the basket of working for that one person, and who are therefore reliant upon that employer treating them well.

Without that employer doing so, good relationships break down.

Productivity is lost.

Employee turnover increases.

The benefit of the knowledge within a system is dissipated, and although bosses gain total power, they lose the benefit of having a workforce who are rich in the knowledge that they possess of the business that they're trying to undertake together.

Fair wages and safety standards are part of the glue that holds the whole of a business in place so that everybody can prosper together. Without them, most businesses will fail.

The vulnerable, the young, women and older workers are particularly at risk, but let's be clear about it. Everyone could be prejudiced by what Nigel Farage wants to do.

It's likely that Reform will deliver longer working hours with lower pay, unsafe working conditions, no security for families. Discrimination at work and exploitation might become the norm.

Why would you want to vote for that?

Why would you want to vote for less powerful workers?

Why would you want to have more exploitative employers?

These are the things that Nigel Farage wants, but why would you want them when you have a choice?

Please think hard about everything that Reform stands for, because almost everything it does stand for is opposed to everything that you might want.

Why would you vote to lose your own rights? Please think hard about thinking of voting for Reform.

Previous posts in this series

1. Farage vs the vulnerable
2. Farage and the NHS
3. Farage is for the rich
4. Farage vs migrants
5. Farage vs climate change
6. Farage vs Democracy

This may also be of interest:

• Farage, the cave, and pushing the Overton window aside

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