Abolish maternity leave, suggests UK PM’s advisor

Summary of story from The Telegraph, 28 July, 2011

Steve Hilton, one of the UK prime minister’s most senior advisers, has suggested that Britain should abolish maternity leave and suspend consumer-rights laws.

He suggested the radical ideas during discussions on scrapping red tape and bureaucracy to boost economic growth.

Senior Downing Street sources last night said the ideas were examples of Hilton’s “blue sky thinking” and had no chance of being introduced.

Hilton, who often walks around the Prime Minister’s office without shoes, also recommended sacking hundreds of Government press offices and replacing them with online blogs.

A source close to Hilton suggested that he thought that maternity leave rights were “the biggest obstacle to women finding work”.

Britain now allows women up to a year off work and the family-friendly policy has been regularly championed by Cameron.