Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, responding to calls from the Institute of Economic Affairs for the Government to abandon the National Living Wage, said:

“With workers in Britain suffering poor wage growth and record levels of in-work poverty, a living wage has never been more urgent. Let’s be clear, the Government’s living wage does not go far enough but, for millions of workers, it will mean not having to choose between heating the house and putting food on the table.

“When Labour introduced the minimum wage in 1999, there was vocal concern about the threat it posed to jobs and businesses. These never came to pass.  The IEA report is yet more scaremongering, and ignores the fact that fairly-paid employees are more productive, and that a race to the bottom is bad for workers and businesses alike.

“More needs to be done – to bring under 25s in line with the rest of the workforce, to keep incomes in line with the cost of living, and to improve people’s working lives beyond pay. Labour have launched Workplace 2020 to start to explore solutions to these issues. In the meantime, abandoning the National Living Wage would be a huge step backwards.”