CBI chair condemns Labour’s Employment Rights Bill 

CBI chair Rupert Soames criticised the Employment Rights Bill. Yui Mok/PA Wire

Rupert Soames, the outgoing chair of the Confederation of British Industry, has lambasted the Labour government for promising to cut regulatory burdens while pushing ahead with its Employment Rights Bill and adding to the cost of hiring.

In a closing speech at the CBI’s annual conference on Monday, Soames questioned the government’s performance and “flakey majority” after its first year in office, taking aim at policies that raise costs for businesses.

He said Labour’s “actions do not match the intentions or the words” amid government pledges to cut the regulatory burden by 25 per cent over the next five years to support businesses with driving growth .

“At its heart, there is an incoherence in government