I think we have made our position absolutely clear. We want this important legislation in statute, so although we feel that it is considerably weakened by the amendment, we will support it. Weakened legislation is better than no legislation—I thought that I had made myself absolutely clear on that.
I know that we are keen to move this legislation on, so I will make it absolutely clear right now that the next Labour Government will require all employers to create and maintain workplaces that are absolutely free from sexual harassment, including by third parties, in all circumstances. We will achieve that through our new
deal for working people, delivered within our first 100 days of office. We are proud to be the party of and for working people, and the party that introduced the groundbreaking Equality Act 2010.
Although this important Bill has been significantly weakened, we will nevertheless support it so that together we can challenge the sexual harassment that happens, particularly in our workplaces, against women and girls.
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