Party leader takes to streets of Brighton on eve of conference to promise 'economy that works for working people'
Labour leader Ed Miliband addresses a
crowd in Brighton on Saturday on the eve of the party conference. Photograph:
Stefan Rousseau/PA
Labour will increase the national minimum wage, Ed Miliband declared as he set out his party's plans to help people struggling with the rising cost of living.
On the eve of his party's conference in Brighton, Miliband took to the city's streets on Saturday to deliver his message that David Cameron's government would stand up only for the "privileged few".
The Labour leader, who also confirmed his promise to abolish the bedroom tax if his party wins the next election, promised an "economy that works for working people".
The announcements, which also included measures to extend childcare, came as Miliband sought to seize the initiative after a drip-feed of claims from Gordon Brown's former spin doctor, Damian McBride, threatened to cast a shadow over the conference.
Miliband, who earlier walked along Brighton seafront with his wife, Justine, and children, Daniel and Samuel, said: "This next election is going to come down to the oldest questions in politics: whose side are you on and who will you fight for?"
The Labour leader said: "We are going to scrap the bedroom tax. That's what I mean by a government that fights for you.
"And we are fighting for all of the low-paid people around our country. One of the proudest achievements of the last Labour government was the national minimum wage, making work pay for people.
"But under David Cameron's government people are falling behind, the national minimum wage now paying people £20 less after inflation than it did when David Cameron came to office. That's just wrong.
"When we see that happening and when we think about one of the big banks, do we really think they can't afford to pay their cleaners a bit more?"
It was wrong that millions of people "are going out to work unable to afford to bring up their families", he said.
Miliband added: "The Labour government will put it right. We will strengthen the national minimum wage. We will make work pay for the workers of Britain.
"That's what I mean by a government that fights for you: abolishing the bedroom tax, strengthening the national minimum wage, childcare there for parents who need it. That's what I mean by tackling the cost of living crisis at this conference. That's what I mean by a government that fights for you."
Miliband has appointed Alan Buckle, the deputy chairman of accountants KPMG, to investigate how the role and powers of the Low Pay Commission could be extended to strengthen the minimum wage.
Buckle will consult employers and employee groups on ways to restore the value of the minimum wage so that it catches up with where it was in 2010. He will also look at which particular sectors can afford to pay more.
Labour said that if the national minimum wage had risen in line with the cost of living it would be 45p an hour higher than the current rate, which is due to rise next month from £6.19 to £6.31.
Buckle will investigate how to restore the value of the minimum wage, although that would not necessarily involve a 45p rise.
Milliband addressed a street rally from a small stage. He said: "Right across the country, from all walks of life, people are facing this cost of living crisis. There will be some people who say the interests of the low-paid and the squeezed middle are just different.
"Well they are wrong. Under David Cameron's government, he has been prime minister for 39 months and in 38 of those months prices have risen faster than wages. That is a record, by the way.
"Living standards falling month after month after month. Gas and electric bills, train fares, petrol prices, the weekly food shop and a prime minister who refuses to act. Why does he refuse to act? He refuses to act because of who he stands for – he stands for just a privileged few at the top."
Guardian
