Theresa May has insisted that her determination to change Britain in the interests of those who are "just about managing" remains "undimmed" despite the loss of her parliamentary majority.
In her first major speech since the general election debacle of June 8, Mrs May said she would act to protect the rights of workers, following the publication of Matthew Taylor's report on the so-called "gig economy".
And she appealed to other political parties to put forward their proposals for debate and discussion ahead of the Government's full response to the report later in the year.
Mrs May acknowledged that the election result - which left her at the head of a minority Government dependent on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party - was "not what I wanted".
However, she insisted that she would press forward with the reform agenda she set out when she first arrived in 10 Downing Street a year ago, saying: "My commitment to changing Britain is undimmed."
The Prime Minister added: "At this critical time in our history, we can either be timid or we can be bold."
"We can play it safe or we can strike out with renewed courage and vigour, making the case for our ideas and values and challenging our opponents to contribute, not just criticise.
"I think this country needs a Government that is prepared to take the bold action necessary to secure a better future for Britain and we are determined to be that Government.
"In everything we do, we will act with an unshakable sense of purpose to build the better, fairer Britain which we all want to see."
Mrs May said the Government's response to the Taylor Report would be guided by the aim of ensuring that "the interests of employees on traditional contracts, the self-employed and those people working in the 'gig' economy are all properly protected".
But she insisted that Britain must avoid "overbearing regulation", retain flexibility in the labour market and remain "a home to innovation, new ideas and new business models".
Mrs May said it was important to ensure that zero-hours contracts do not allow employers to "exploit" workers, but rejected Labour's call for them to be banned, warning that this would "harm more people than it would help".
The Taylor Report recommended the creation of a new category of worker in employment law called a "dependent contractor" to cover those who are not full-time employees but do not enjoy the autonomy traditionally seen as part of self-employment.
Mr Taylor - a former adviser to Tony Blair who is now chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) - set out seven "principles for fair and decent work", including:
:: A goal of "good work for all";
:: Additional protections for workers suffering unfair, one-sided flexibility;
:: Stronger incentives for firms to treat workers fairly;
:: A more proactive approach to workplace health.
But his report won a lukewarm response from unions and employment lawyers, who said it did little to help the growing number of workers in delivery and taxi firms such as Deliveroo and Uber.
Launching the report in London, Mr Taylor said: "One-sided flexibility is where employers seek to transfer all risk on to the shoulder of workers in ways which make people more insecure and makes their lives harder to manage.
"It's the people told to be ready for work or travelling to work only to be told none is available, it's the people who spent years working for a company on zero hours contracts but who without a guarantee of hours from week to week can't get a mortgage or a loan.
"It's the people who feel that if they ever raise legitimate concerns about their treatment they will simply be denied the hours that they so desperately need."
Mr Taylor said this would be tackled by asking the Low Pay Commission to explore a higher minimum wage level for hours that are not guaranteed, and giving people the right to request fixed hours and permanent contracts.
Companies will also be required to disclose how they respond to these requests.
"There's nothing wrong with zero and low hours contracts but they should be a means to two-way flexibility, not a lazy way for those with market power to dump risk on those who lack that power," he said.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "I worry that many gig economy employers will be breathing a sigh of relief this morning.
"From what we've seen, this review is not the game-changer needed to end insecurity and exploitation at work."
Unite union leader Len McCluskey said the recommendations must be matched by effective enforcement of the law, adding: "Without fully resourced enforcement then all we have from Mr Taylor and the Government is a dog that is all bark and no bite."
The CBI's Neil Carberry said: "The Taylor Review rightly recognises that labour market flexibility is a key strength of the UK economy, driving better outcomes for everyone.
"Businesses agree that flexibility must be matched with fairness, but building on our current approach, as the report concludes, is the right way forwards.
"The CBI is ready to work in partnership with the Government to address the challenges the report raises."
Mrs May was asked if she agreed with the report's finding that many gig economy firms should be possibly paying millions of pounds in National Insurance contributions which they do not currently.
She replied: "We're going to look at all these recommendations that have come out of the report and we will look at them all very carefully and seriously and we will respond to the report collectively, in due course, so that we can look at the whole package that Matthew and his panel have put forward."
Addressing her lack of a parliamentary majority and the difficulty that causes in terms of implementing the report's recommendations, Mrs May said: "I would hope, as I said in my speech, that people across the political world will see the importance of addressing this as an issue.
"Because this isn't just a sort of here-and-now.
"It's actually about the future of our economy, it's about making sure that we have got the right frameworks in place, the right approach in place as well."
Responding to the Taylor Report, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "It doesn't go far enough, that's the real problem with it."
Mr Corbyn said: "Obviously, we've got to get rid of zero-hours contracts, obviously we've got to get rid of the gig economy and bogus self-employment, which actually is a wonderful way for a minority of employers to evade paying employers' national insurance contributions.
"We want self-employed workers to have rights and self-employed workers to be able to live decently.
"That means access to benefits if and when they need them, but it also means that bogus self-employment has to be dealt with.
"Yes, it does suit some people, because of their family arrangements or whatever, to work part-time.
"But we do think that zero-hours contracts are not the way to do it."
Asked whether Labour would respond to Mrs May's appeal for parties to co-operate, Mr Corbyn said: "It's a change of language from the arrogance which they displayed at the start of the election campaign, and then they realised that the public out there are more interested in better standards of living, a better health service, better employment rights, more interested in what we were putting forward in the election."
Mr Corbyn added: "In the vote on the Queen's Speech we put forward a specific amendment on the public sector pay cap.
"What did the Tories do? Vote it down, with the support of the DUP.
"We are going to put forward our manifesto in this Parliament. We've already done that.
"But it's not a great start when we put forward something so specific and actually very consensual, ask the public about it, on the public sector pay cap and it's rejected by this Government."
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman and leadership candidate Sir Vince Cable said the Taylor Report's proposals were "broadly sensible" and would "both improve workers' rights in the gig economy and maintain flexibility for those who want it".
But he added: "We now need to stamp out abuse of zero hours contracts by giving people the right to request fixed hours, a proposal the Conservatives opposed during the coalition.
"Workers' rights underpinned by EU law must be protected from an extreme Conservative Brexit.
"Ultimately, the drive to create more high-quality jobs depends on economic growth and attracting investment. Unless Theresa May rows back on her reckless Brexit plans, we will continue to see falling real wages, slowing economic growth and fewer jobs."
Mr Corbyn later tweeted a photograph of himself signing a copy of Labour's manifesto, adding: "Dear @theresa_may, you asked for ideas so I've sent you our manifesto.
"I hope it helps to "clarify and improve" your policies #ForTheMany".