Coalition 'split over workers' rights'

A leading business group will today sound alarm bells about "deepening splits" in the Coalition over employment law.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has found 87 per cent of Conservative MPs who responded to a survey it commissioned felt that the balance of employment law had shifted too far towards the employee, to the detriment of the employer, but 71 per cent of Liberal Democrats felt the reverse was true.

The survey, conducted by ComRes, also found 62 per cent of Conservatives were in favour of appointing a full-time trade minister to "bang the drum" for British companies overseas, but half of Liberal Democrats felt such a minister was not necessary. HSBC's chairman, Stephen Green, is set to take the role.

The BCC's director general David Frost said: "The UK's economic recovery depends on a stable government with the backing for policies that put enterprise growth first."