Has there ever been a more useful bogeyman for the UK business lobby than the class action monster? Whatever the circumstance or evidence to the contrary, if it involves litigation against a company or public body by individuals, policy-makers and business representatives drag out horror stories of the US litigation culture, a scary world that has supposedly been manifesting itself over here for years.
Such trends can be seen recently from MPs criticising no win, no fees deals backing an upcoming test case against the NHS from female hospital workers who claim they have been paid less than male equivalents. Never mind the considerable evidence that the claim by thousands of workers is at least substantive enough to deserve a hearing; for some Labour politicians the real issue is supposedly aggressive tactics from claimant lawyers.
