Starmer visits Ikea Croydon – but not to assemble new cabinet

Keir Starmer, the son of a tool-maker, managed a quick, and secretive, visit to Ikea in Croydon this morning.

It was suggested that he may have been looking for a new cabinet, because the one he’s got in Downing Street appears to be falling apart…

But the visit, which undoubtedly will have been diarised by the chair of the Streatham and Croydon North Constituency Labour Party, failed to warrant any mention on Starmer’s or No10’s social media platforms.

The visit also highlighted, once again, the complete contempt in which Steve Reed holds Croydon and his Croydon constituents. For while two of Croydon’s Labour MPs turned up and used the Prime Minister’s visit as an excuse to issue a joint press release, Reed – as has become the norm – was silent on Croydon-related matters.

Starmer’s team had chosen Ikea as the location for an announcement about the Labour government’s Employment Rights Act 2025.

More than 5million workers across London will benefit from stronger protections at work. From April, millions of workers who were previously denied time off for the birth of their child will become eligible for rights to parental leave from April.

The changes, which stem from the recently passed Employment Rights Act, will see parents no longer forced to make the choice between being there for the first weeks of their child’s life or going back to work to avoid losing their job.

An additional 32,000 more fathers will be able to access paternity leave immediately each year, as a mother would with maternity leave, according to Labour.

Around 390,000 people are estimated to be out of work due to caring responsibilities but want a job. The reforms to parental leave include the right to take unpaid parental leave from the first day in a new job. “If even 1% of those out of work were able to take up a part-time job as a result of this move, it could boost economic output by around £150million a year,” Labour claims.

“For too long, working people were left without the basic rights and security they deserve. That ends now,” Starmer said this morning, standing in the Swedish furniture retailer’s warehouse surrounded by Blanda bowls, Lack tables and Billy bookcases.

“The changes we’re bringing in will mean every new parent can properly take time off when they have a child, and no one is forced to work while ill just to make ends meet. This is about giving working families the support they need to balance work, health and the cost of living.”

A new bereaved partner’s paternity leave will also be introduced from April, providing up to 52 weeks of leave for fathers and partners who lose their partner before their child’s first birthday.

“The benefits in the Employment Rights Act significantly outweigh the costs,” a Labour spokesperson said today.

“By restricting exploitative practices like unscrupulous fire and rehire, and giving more workers access to flexible working and guaranteed hours contracts, this country will see improved worker wellbeing, boosted productivity, and a more level playing field for employers.” This is “expected to deliver a small yet positive impact on economic growth”, Labour claims.

The government is also bringing in changes affecting workers in lower-paid or part-time roles, enabling them to access Statutory Sick Pay.

“This is a substantial shift from the former three-day wait for SSP to kick in, which left people working while ill.”

But trades unions accuse Starmer’s Labour of watering down the measures from what had been promised before the 2024 General Election. An original proposal for day-one unfair dismissal protection was watered down to a six-month qualifying period, zero hours contracts are not being banned, as promised, and while the practice of “fire and rehire” is more difficult, it is not being banned, as Labour said they would.

As with much employment reform, it is argued, changes need to be made gradually. Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said: “The Employment Rights Act will deliver vital commonsense reforms for millions of people.

“Britain will now be brought into line with other countries where workers already have better protections. Good employers will also welcome these changes – the Act protects them from competitors whose business models are built on low-paid, insecure employment.”

More Reed: MP Reed spent Christmas tweeting link to Inside Croydon

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