UK employment relations under the Conservatives: a ‘Little English’ hegemony?

In May 2015 the Conservatives under David Cameron were returned with a small, but largely unexpected parliamentary majority. Between 2010 and 2015 they had governed in coalition with the more centrist Liberal Democrats. While the leaderships of both parties shared the same fundamental belief in the virtues of a deregulated, flexible labour market, over time differences of emphasis began to emerge when it came to their respective approaches to employment relations matters. The commentator Ken Spours has argued that, liberated from the constraints imposed by having to govern in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives are using this opportunity to forge a long-term hegemonic strategy designed to marginalise political and industrial opposition sufficiently to dominate the English – and hence the UK – political landscape for the foreseeable future.