"Unlawful, unwarranted and unworkable."

A recent anti-austerity demo in Liverpool

That's how Steve Cavalier, the chief executive of Thompson's Solicitors, described the Trade Union Bill to MPs on the Trade Union Bill Committee yesterday. Read more of what he said here.

Sajid Javid, the business secretary, is behind the bill that plans to ban strikes by key public sector workers unless they are supported by at least 40 per cent of all of those eligible to vote. But in May's general election, he himself was supported by just 38.3% of the 74,000 people eligible to vote in his Bromsgrove constituency. Like most Tory MPs, he wouldn't have reached the threshold he is setting for trade unions.

Every Lidl helps ...

Lidl is getting great press right now for paying local staff living wage salaries in the UK and Ireland, but did you know there's a campaign to support workers in Lidl's supply chains to get fair pay too? The company said recently that it's developing an action plan to ensure living wages are paid to workers in its supply chains, and will share details on October 27.

Every extra petition signature now could make a difference!

Please add your name to the Lidl petition and share it widely so the company continues to feel the pressure. Click here to sign.

Thank you.

Yes, they really are the nasty party

"We have become one of the most unethical nations in the West, where slick presentation, propaganda and incessant spin make their own realities."

If you need more evidence that the Tories are not just misguided but otherwise fundamentally decent people, please have a look at this article in The Independent by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.