Labour’s minimum wage promise for younger workers at risk as John Healey signals delay

Minimum wage gap remains

Healey was asked in a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday whether younger workers would be paid the same minimum wage as older workers by the next election. His answer suggested that equal rates might not be reached by then.

He said the question was when the gap would end and how quickly. Healey also said he wanted businesses, trade unions and the government to work together on the issue, describing the situation facing a million young people as a moral shame. The change is likely to anger unions and some on the left of Labour.

Budget left rates unequal

In last week’s Budget, Healey said younger workers would receive the same increase as older workers. The two groups would nevertheless continue to have different minimum wage rates this year. The prospect of equal rates before the next election could therefore fall short of a Labour manifesto promise, according to the report’s account of Healey’s remarks.

Spending cuts also discussed

Healey suggested he might make substantial cuts to some areas of public spending to get the country’s debt falling. The Institute for Fiscal Studies questioned this week how likely the government was to follow through. Asked whether some departments could face cuts of more than 2% a year, Healey said the plans would be carried into the 10-year plan and next year’s spending review.

Badenoch challenges spending plans

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said most spending cuts should come from the welfare budget, which she described as involving “astronomical sums.” She also said she was not against the government’s proposed cuts but wanted more detail. Badenoch criticised the Budget’s 98 measures, calling many piecemeal and saying none would make a difference.