For immediate release 17 August 2007
STUC Appalled at Tory Plans on Red-Tape
Speaking as the Conservative Party prepared to launch the widely trailed report of its ‘economic competitiveness review group’, Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary, said:
“If even half of what we read in last weekend’s papers is true then this report will signal a massive lurch to the right for David Cameron’s Tories. It will be interesting to observe Mr Cameron attempting to reconcile this deregulatory fervour with his new found commitment to the environment.
“Any mature analysis of the UK’s competitive position would recognise that ‘red-tape’ is a complete red-herring. The UK is not over-regulated as is clearly demonstrated by every international survey on the matter. The UK is currently sixth out of 175 countries in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ rankings and tops the OECD list of lightly regulated nations.
“It is dangerously irresponsible to talk blithely of cutting red-tape without considering the consequences for individuals and the economy as a whole. In a year when work-related fatalities have witnessed an unwelcome and unacceptable increase and in a week when the ICL Plastics trial gets underway, the Tories will boast of their plans to weaken health and safety legislation. At a time when the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage sector threatens world economic stability, the Tories talk of slashing regulation in the UK’s already very lightly regulated financial services sector.
“To be fair to the Tories, it does at least look as if they might spell out exactly which regulations they will abolish. This is more than any employer organisation has done to date. But does Mr Cameron really believe that weakening hard won protections for workers, communities and the environment will prove to be a vote winner?”
ENDS
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Notes to Editor
The STUC’s December 2006 report, Challenging the Red Tape Myths is available at: http://www.stuc.org.uk/files/Red%20Tape/Challenging%20the%20Red%20Tape%20Myths.pdf