What the Guardian did NOT tell you about Labour workers’ rights polling

There was a lot of chatter on Monday 15 July about Guardian and Mirror articles which said that polling showed overwhelming public support for the Labour Party’s New Deal for Working People. However, what both MSM outlets failed to say was that not all of the polling for Labour was quite as rosy.

TUC: support for Labour’s New Deal

On 15 July, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) published new polling which reveals overwhelming support for Labour’s New Deal for Working People.

The polling of more than 3,000 voters – conducted by Opinium on the day after the election – shows large-scale backing across the political spectrum for Labour’s flagship workers’ rights programme including among Conservative and Reform voters.

For example, the polling revealed that:

• Real living wage: Three-quarters (77%) of 2024 voters support ensuring the national minimum wage rises to be a real living wage. This number rises to more than eight in 10 (85%) for Labour, Lib Dem (86%) and Green (86%) voters and is hugely popular among 2024 Conservative (71%) and Reform voters too (77%).

Of course, Labour hasn’t directly committed to this. Its manifesto said obliquely that:

The next Labour government would go further and make sure the minimum wage is a real living wage that people can live on.

To achieve this, we would change the Low Pay Commission’s remit so that alongside median wages and economic conditions, the minimum wage will for the first time reflect the need for pay to take into account the cost of living.

“A” real living wage is not “the” Real Living Wage, set by the Living Wage Foundation.

Anyway, back to the polling and:

• Unfair dismissal: Nearly two in three (64%) of all 2024 election voters support the day one right to protection from unfair dismissal.
• Sick pay: Nearly seven in 10 voters (69%) back Labour’s plan to make statutory sick pay available from the first day of sickness.
• Ban on fire and rehire: Two-thirds (66%) of voters support a ban on fire and rehire.
• Ban on zero hours contracts: Nearly seven in 10 (67%) voters support banning zero-hours contracts by offering all workers a contract that reflects their normal hours of work and compensation for cancelled shifts.

The results the Guardian didn’t mention

However, some of the polling wasn’t so positive. For example:

• Union access to workplaces: 2024 voters by a margin over two to one (46% in favour, 19% against) support giving trade unions a right to access workplaces to tell workers about the benefits of joining a trade union.

That means less than half of people support trade unions – a worrying development.

Meanwhile, over half (54%) of those polled by Opinium say their personal financial circumstances are getting worse. This number rises even higher for Labour (59%), Green (65%) and Reform (59%) voters – and even among Conservative voters, over a third (36%) say they feel they are getting worse off.

Nearly six in 10 (59%) 2024 voters say the economy is getting worse – with only Conservative voters (61%) saying the economy is improving.

However, when asked what was the most important attribute or quality for a political party – voters said being “on the side of ordinary working people” was the most important. Among all voters in the 2024 election Labour was rated highest for on being on the side of working people (49%) – with the Conservatives scoring lowest (20%).

In other words, less than half of people thought Labour – now the elected government – was the best party to be on the side of working people. Plus, neither the TUC nor Opinium have released the polling data – meaning we have no idea how any other parties apart from the Tories and Labour scored on this question.

Starting as they mean to go on: hardly a ‘New Deal’…

Adam Drummond, Research Director and Partner at Opinium, said was cautious:

There’s strong support for pro-worker policies we tested including living wage, unfair dismissal, sick pay, banning zero-hours contracts and banning the practice of fire and rehire.

Crucially this isn’t just among Labour voters but typically also among supporters of other parties including the Conservatives and Reform.

While Labour is generally more trusted than distrusted when it comes to making working life better and being on the side of working people voters will need to see them deliver.

The Guardian and Mirror failed to mention these less-than encouraging polling results – not a good sign for the corporate media’s coverage of the next five years of a Labour government.

Featured image via the Guardian – screengrab

Additional reporting via the TUC – press release