Employment Bill [HL]

Since we are formally debating my Amendment No. 4, which seeks to Amendment No. 3, it falls to me to withdraw my amendment, as I promised to do. In doing so, I thank the Minister for introducing the amendment in the names of those who have been described as ““the absent”” noble Lord, Lord Jones of Birmingham, and ““the absent”” noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, and for bringing it forward in a spirit of compromise. I am sorry that he has not had what might be called unanimous support from his own side of the House. I thought that the Government needed all the friends they could get at the moment, but on this issue they seem to have lost the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, the noble Lords, Lord Borrie and Lord Hoyle, and, it seems, the entire TUC to boot. But no doubt the noble Lord will be building bridges in due course to try to re-establish links with those three eminent Peers and the Trades Union Congress.