Private Equity (Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment) Bill

The hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) talked about the unintended consequences of the Bill, and I have certainly already seen some of them. The private equity industry will never have had such glowing praise. Certainly, the standing of both the private equity industry and Mr. Jack Dromey has gone up considerably. I suspect that both their reputations have been enhanced, probably in very different quarters. I shall be brief; I see the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) sitting there, and I am sure that he would like to have a few moments to speak to his Bill. I hear what the Minister is saying, but I do not agree with everything that he said. At one stage when the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) was talking, I realised that he would have opposed anything that concerned regulation. I suspect that he does not support TUPE, as it applies now. However, having listened to the Minister read out all the things that people could do to be consulted and become involved when equity transfers take place—Bill after Bill, and occasion after occasion—I started to think that perhaps a bit too much regulation covers those transactions. The real point is that I could go through each thing that the Minister mentioned and explain why it is different from TUPE. He was saying what could be done, but none of those things equates to the same protection as people would receive under TUPE. I still feel the same as I did at the outset. I cannot see a logical reason why an equity transfer that causes distress or uncertainty for workers should not be treated in the same way as a general takeover in which TUPE applies. I do not see why one group of workers should not have the same rights as another group of workers. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr. Clarke) and my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) for their contributions. On a day on which I came in for a fair amount of criticism, it was nice to have someone on my side supporting me. I should thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller), too—I nearly missed out one of my star lieutenants. I thank the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans), although I disagreed with him. He seemed to say all the right things about workers' protection and wanting to protect the vulnerable, but he came to a different conclusion, and said that the way to protect them was to give them no protection. However, he did so in a witty way, which I appreciated. The hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) expressed a balanced view. She tried to put the TUC view and the CBI view but, unfortunately, she fell on the wrong side of the fence. Listening to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) was like stepping back into the past and going back 30 years. It was the old, tired politics of them and us—the unions are all bad, and business is marvellous. I do not believe that there is any sensible person in the House who thinks that way any more. We all recognise that trade unions have a part to play in society and, at the same time, the Government have managed to create an economic situation that allows private investment companies to thrive. As a result, we have allowed the economy to grow. I am sure that there are no Government Members who want to kick business for the sake of kicking business, so I am sad that the debate descended to that level. I will end by saying two things. Like Opposition Members, I picked up on the Minister's comments on the European Commission. I wrote down what the Commission said, because I thought it was significant. It said that such a measure was not justified ““at this stage.”” That brings me back to what I said at the beginning of our debate. Without Government support, the Bill is going nowhere, and I am realistic enough to accept that. To use the Commission's phrase, at this stage, the measure is not going anywhere. The fact that two sets of workers have different protections is unsustainable, and at some stage in future I think that something will be done to address that. I accept that the Bill is not the right vehicle to do so, but I welcome the opportunity that the Minister gave me to carry the issue a bit further and engage with the BVCA, other parties who are interested in such investment, trade unions and others to try to see whether there is a solution to the problem. I do not know exactly what it is, but if we have proper discussions, I am sure that we will find it and, in doing so, help investment companies in the private sector to participate in proper competition and, at the same time, protect their workers' rights. With that, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Motion and Bill, by leave, withdrawn.