An attempt by the Tory MP Jesse Norman to attack facility time for trade union reps was defeated in the House of Commons.
The bill was defeated by a majority of 79 by MPs. It would have affected the ability of shop stewards and union reps throughout the country to get paid time off from their employer to help represent their fellow workers. As Shadow Health Secretary and Labour MP John Healey said, this was an ideological attempt by a right-wing Tory MP to attack “the most basic, most benign feature of union work, the day-to-day support for staff at work, by their colleagues who are prepared to volunteer as trade union representatives”.