Britain’s working people urgently need the government to change direction, but last week the prime minister struggled even to change her own cabinet.

For trade unions, the situation is especially worrying because of the precarious position of working rights in this country. Just before Christmas, it was reported that senior ministers including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove had launched a plot to scrap the working time regulations.

This is a vital piece of European legislation, that unions campaigned for, which improved paid holiday rights for seven million workers, including nearly five million women. Without it, bad bosses would be able to force their staff to work long hours week in, week out, with even less free time for family life. Lunch breaks, rest breaks and