Labour is one step away from turning Britain into France

That big payoffs are failing to dampen the recent explosion of trade union militancy is hardly a surprise. But not only will activists aim to outstrip inflation permanently, but they will push for the sorts of enhanced worker entitlements seen on the continent, ignoring that our deregulated labour market is one of this country’s few remaining comparative advantages. 

Remember when BBC presenters were forced to work limited hours during the Paris Olympics, in order to adhere to French employment laws? Here in Britain, Angela Rayner is itching to legislate for a “right to disconnect”, making it unlawful for employers to contact staff outside of working hours. 

France is the only EU country that limits the working week to 35 hours, with caveats – here in Britain, demands for a four-day week with no loss of pay are loudening. Some 90pc of French employers offer a hybrid model of working, but the UK is catching up, at 77pc. 

Then there is the productivity data. A Banque de France study recently reported labour output in France has fallen by 8.5pc since 2019, yet it still remains around a sixth higher than in the UK.

But unemployment is also higher in France – 7.4pc to our 4.2pc – for the simple reason that French bosses don’t want to hire sluggish staff, especially when it’s so difficult to fire them. In Britain, the Government is proposing that the right not to be unfairly dismissed apply to all employees on day one; currently they have to wait two years.

This is the fate that awaits us. French-style labour protections combined with Soviet-style productivity, an impossibly bloated public sector riddled with inefficiencies funded by an increasingly squeezed taxpayer.

We might not go bankrupt, but we could become France.