Today and tomorrow MPs will be voting on the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

This ill advised bit of legislation covers a wide range of subjects, including proposals to significantly undermine workplace rights.  

If people lose their jobs, there are costs in terms of social welfare and they no longer make tax contributions.

It makes much more sense to be investing in ways to create new jobs, especially in the public and social enterprise sectors, than using deregulation that will increase economic instability.

The Government promised that the private sector would step in and boost employment yet this has not happened, so now they are searching around for ways to try to make good on that promise.

I have, therefore, signed a number of key amendments to the Bill designed to protect access to justice in grievance cases, to ensure that the makeup of employment tribunals guarantees cases are properly heard;  and to protects workers from losing rights and entitlements that have been built up over years when they move from one organisation to another.

Other aspects of the Bill I am opposing include: the limiting of compensation awards in unfair dismissal cases – the less an employer has to pay to unfairly dismiss a worker, the more likely they are to do so; allowing employers to seek to agree terms of severance with employees in a way that cannot be cited in a tribunal; and allowing employers to pressure employees to sign away their rights and their right to be treated fairly.

The justification for many of the Government’s proposals is that they will increase employment and boost the economy.

But data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) makes clear there is no evidence to suggest excessive employment protection is damaging the UK’s economic performance.

What’s more, the Federation of Small Businesses says that only 6% of its members claim regulation is an obstacle to them doing well.

The far bigger problem – and one that the Coalition Government has failed time and again to address properly – is banks lending to small businesses and the lack of a proper economic strategy.