Gordon Brown gave a clear indication at Prime Minister's Question time today about how he will deliver on agency and temporary workers' rights, voted for overwhelmingly last Friday.
But it will be in a European, rather than domestic context.
Here's the extract from the No. 10 website transcript of PMQs:
Kelvin Hopkins: Last week the parliamentary Labour party was united in voting enthusiastically to nationalise a bank. On Friday two thirds of the parliamentary Labour party stayed in Westminster to vote for the Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill, so ably promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller). After that vote we gathered in New Palace Yard for a team photograph and sang “The Red Flag”. Does my right hon. Friend accept that with more of the same, he will lead us to a famous victory at the next election?
The Prime Minister: I believe that the whole country believes that we were right to take the decisions that we took on Northern Rock. I also believe that the whole of the European Union, all 27 countries, want to see an agreement on agency workers. We are working throughout Europe to get such an agreement...
Not before time it could be argued.
If my hunch is right, this offers the Labour Party a chance of reinforcing the idea of Social Europe, which is inexplicably being put at risk by TU demands for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.