Author Archives: wonkypolicywonk

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About wonkypolicywonk

Wonkypolicywonk is a recovering policy minion, assigned wonky at birth. At an early age, he chose to be a pain in the arse, rather than a liar. Unfortunately, he then spent much of his professional 'career' working for liars.

Assisted dying: Labour’s self-administered lethal cocktail

Posted on December 2, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

So, on Friday, 236 Labour MPs voted for Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood and the rest of the Labour Government to assume responsibility for Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill, and for the increasingly bitter Red-on-Red warfare of the last … Continue reading →

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Assisted dying Bill: a ‘how to vote’ guide for Labour MPs

Posted on November 27, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Are you a Labour MP? Maybe newly-elected on 4 July, or otherwise unfamiliar with the deeply defective and anachronistic Private Members’ Bill process? Still undecided how to vote on Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying Bill on Friday? Well, fret no more! … Continue reading →

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Assisted dying: Kim gets Keir off the hook, but at what price?

Posted on October 17, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

So, Keir Starmer had himself filmed making a personal promise to TV celebrity Esther Rantzen – Democracy 2024, innit – and now backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, having had her numbered wooden ball pulled out of a glass bowl at … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Single Enforcement Body: Yes, kids, we’re almost there!

Posted on August 21, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Almost three years ago, in December 2021, I concluded on this blog that, in terms of progress towards the creation of a single enforcement body for workplace rights – a reform I had first proposed 20 years earlier, when a … Continue reading →

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Zero-hours contracts: To ban, or not to ban?

Posted on August 19, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

While we await the return of MPs to Westminster to begin work on the new Labour Government’s ambitious legislative programme, including what is set to be a truly humungous Employment Rights Bill, the (very) clever policy wonks at the Resolution … Continue reading →

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Zero-hours contracts: Labour’s zero-sum game

Posted on April 1, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

In February, I questioned whether Labour shadow ministers have any idea how to implement their near totemic pledge – set out in their New Deal for Working People – to “ban zero-hours contracts and contracts without a minimum number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Workers' rights | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Toxic Truss and the Chamber of Horrors

Posted on March 19, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Since Friday, there’s been some argy-bargy between MPs over which party – the Conservatives or Labour – was responsible for “talking out” an attempt by the shortest-serving Prime Minister in history, Liz Truss, to progress her Private Members’ Bill (PMB) … Continue reading →

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ET fees: my response to the MoJ consultation

Posted on February 28, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Earlier this month, on this blog, I posted my initial thoughts about the surprisingly-timed Ministry of Justice consultation on Employment Tribunal (ET) fees, launched on 29 January, as well as some further thoughts and my proposal for an alternative fees … Continue reading →

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Cochlear implants: an update from Wonky Junior

Posted on February 25, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Today is International Cochlear Implant Day. If you’ve not heard of cochlear implants, they are an amazing technology that enables profoundly deaf children and adults to ‘hear’ sound, and so learn to communicate primarily by speech (often supplemented by lip-reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Employment Tribunal fees: How to fee, *that* is the question

Posted on February 5, 2024 by wonkypolicywonk

Last week on this blog, I set out my initial response to the Ministry of Justice proposal to introduce modest fees for Employment Tribunal (ET) claimants and Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) appellants. In short, given the dire state of public … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment tribunals, Justice | Tagged , , | 1 Comment