Something funny happened this weekend. Lots of right-ish Tories, some of them self-professed libertarians, started saying they wanted Britain to be more like Switzerland.
David Cameron’s veto means that Britain can be more like Switzerland, cheered Tory MP Mark Reckless. Howard Flight wants to see Britain as a large Switzerland. If only Britain could become a “super Switzerland”, wailed Tory parliamentary researcher Anthony Pickles. On news programmes, blogs and Twitter, anti-EU types proclaimed that Switzerland is the new model for Britain.
So let me just get this right. They want:
- Full employment protection after three months service, instead of the UK’s one year, (soon to be extended to two).
- An employment law regime where, according to the Federation of European Employers, “dismissal is normally only lawful for either gross misconduct or serious economic reasons.”
- A ban on ‘non-essential’ Sunday and night work, requiring employers to apply for a special permit.
- A maximum 45-hour working week, as opposed to the current EU 48-hour week which the government wants to ditch.
As far as I’m aware, even the Labour Party isn’t proposing anything like this.
The libertarian right just ain’t what it used to be.
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They want it to be like America (specifically, Alabama, judging by the views on health and safety they express). They know that saying that is not a vote-winner.
I thought they just meant they wanted Britain to be racist.
The British have “something in common” with the Swiss but they accept euros in bars and railway stations! Maybe the British can do the same without being part of the eurozone..why not?
Massive agricultural subsidies; mandatory dog training school for first-time dog owners: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/video/Doggy_school.html?cid=9120706
Switzerland is like nowhere else. Its very different to us. If the answer is “be more like Switzerland” then someone is asking a stupid question.
As far as I’m away they can pretty much sack you in Switzerland for any reason (completely unlike the UK), and employment law heavily favours the employer (as opposed to being the complete opposite in the UK).
Britain is a nanny-state, Switzerland just doesn’t let the poor in.
You will see more members side with the UK when their politicians involve their electorates.
Dave just short-cut the inevitable reply.
Britain needs to be more like Britain again, not Switzerland, and OUTSIDE of the EU.