The hon. Gentleman is a wily old bird and he knows that the economy is in recession not because of the UK employment regime or because there is somehow a need to make it easier to fire workers at will, but because, as my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby said, the Government have choked off demand by cutting spending too fast and raising taxes such as VAT too far. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West pointed out, removing the rights of workers will only have the impact of increasing job insecurity, thereby damaging work force morale, productivity and confidence precisely at the time when we need to see more confidence flowing through the economy.
The Government have repeatedly and pointedly failed to rule out the prospect of Beecroft’s recommendations being brought forward as amendments to the Bill. The Secretary of State was somewhat vague on that matter. After penetrating interventions from my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State and my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston, the Secretary of State said that as far as he was aware—although it is his Bill—he did not see any prospect of that occurring. I hope that the Minister will make the Government’s position crystal clear on the implementation of the Beecroft recommendations during the Bill’s passage through Parliament. I hope he will confirm that none of Beecroft’s recommendations will be in amendments tabled to the Bill and that he will work with us in Committee to ensure that any such amendments from Back Benchers will be rejected. I know that the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) wants to table such an amendment and I look forward to working with him—or against him—in Committee.
Hon. Members also raised the proposals on directors’ remuneration in part 6. We have made it clear that although we are generally supportive of what the Government are doing, the proposals do not go nearly far enough. We need greater accountability and transparency, and the recent shareholder spring, which involved many companies, suggests that investors believe that, too.
Reports in the weekend media suggested that the Government will not empower shareholders with an annual binding vote on remuneration for executives, requiring it instead only every three years. Previously, the Secretary of State has rightly stated that an annual binding vote would provide investors with a powerful tool to hold executives to account, particularly as regards failure. He pledged that again today, which is very welcome. We intend to press forward in Committee with amendments to this part of the Bill to ensure that the matter is dealt with comprehensively and fairly and that all the recommendations of the High Pay Commission are implemented, including those that workers sit on remuneration committees.
Parts 3 and 4 will establish the competition and markets authority; the purpose is to improve the speed, quality and robustness of decision making. We Labour Members are keen to ensure that the competition regime in this country is the best in the world, so that innovation and imagination are rewarded; in that respect, I agree with the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr Evennett). When the Government came to power, the UK’s competitive environment was seen as one of
the best in the world—third behind only the US and Germany—so it is of concern that on this Government’s watch, the Global Competition Review has downgraded the status of the Office of Fair Trading, following what it termed the OFT’s “dismal” enforcement on cartels. In Committee, we will scrutinise closely and challenge the Government’s proposals to ensure that our competition regime remains best in class.
The Government had a great opportunity in this Bill to deal with the consequences of their failed economic policies. The Bill was a chance to put in place legislative measures to enhance this country’s economic competitive position, and to set in train policy certainty for investors, which would allow them to invest for the long term. The Bill could have helped our companies to improve their productivity and decarbonise the economy, while allowing British firms to benefit from the green industrial revolution, which is happening now—not in 2016. It could have made a firm statement in law that failures and poor performance at the top of business would not be tolerated or rewarded with excessive pay, and it could have safeguarded consumers from powerful vested interests. The Bill has made some progress on that, but not nearly enough. It is a missed opportunity. It is a rag-bag that exposes the Government’s lack of a compelling vision and fails to help British business to compete in the global economy of today and tomorrow. On that basis, I commend the reasoned amendment to the House.
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