What to make of another retreat by Keir Starmer from a policy that made him Labour leader?

Workplace law is the latest area of policy to see changes, writes John Rentoul

Labour leader Keir Starmer with deputy leader Angela Rayner (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Labour Party is said to have “watered down” its policy on employment rights. Instead of granting full rights to every worker on their first day in a new job, employers will be allowed to put new employees on probation.

It is unclear how different this will be from the current law, which denies workers full rights until they have been in a job for two years.

Keir Starmer also seems to have retreated from his policy from just two years ago to create a single status of “worker” in order to prevent companies from using bogus self-employed status to cut tax bills and avoid giving workers employee rights. The party now promises to consult – in government – on “a simpler framework”.