PM takes aim at Greens in workers' rights launch

Keir Starmer has used the number of workers' rights that come into force today to attack the Green party, saying a vote for Labour's rivals puts progress on sick pay, parental leave and zero-hours contracts at risk.

- Ben Quinn

Keir Starmer says Labour offers voters in May's elections 'a serious, credible economic strategy'.

The prime minister also took a swipe at business figures and opponents of what he described as the biggest strengthening of workers' rights in a generation, dismissing "vested interests" who had warned against them.

In a sign of how he views the threat from both the Green party and Reform UK in the run-up to local elections in May, Starmer said that having “a serious, credible economic strategy” set Labour apart from others.

“No other party offers both the economic credibility and the political will to do this,” he wrote in an online article for the Guardian.

"A vote for any other party puts that progress at risk whether through choices that would take us backwards, or approaches that simply don't stand up to the realities of governing."

Measures that come into force today include the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, a key demand of campaigners and Labour MPs. Starmer described it as one of the proudest moments of his government.

Other measures coming into force today include a 4.8% increase in the state pension to £241.30 a week and a 2.3% rise in the universal credit standard allowance.

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, statutory sick pay becomes a right from day one of becoming ill.

Workers are also entitled to paternity and unpaid parental leave from the first day of employment.