Employment Rights Bill

Debate between Lord Barber of Ainsdale and Lord Leigh of Hurley

Report stage
Wednesday 23rd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

With great respect, every shareholder gets a mailed piece of paper with a box to tick—every single shareholder every single year. If that is not a ballot, what is?

[Lord Barber of Ainsdale (Lab)]

Do shareholders get an opt-out facility from political donations that the company is making on behalf of the owners of the company?

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

They can certainly vote against it, and that happens quite regularly. The situation is exactly the reverse of the one put forward by the Benches opposite.

My focus is on Clause 77, which the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, highlighted. It is a complicated clause. It refers us to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which was itself amended by subsequent Acts, and to the famous aforementioned Section 32ZB, which relates to details of political expenditure in the political fund. The political funds, as I think has been said, were set up to protect the unions because the law did not allow them to make donations directly, so the political fund allows donations to political parties. But this clause requires details of any political expenditure to be disclosed in the annual return to the certification officer, and that is what the Bill wants to get rid of. It was brought in as Section 12 of the Trade Union Act 2016.