The minimum wage will be turned into a “genuine living wage” on the first day of a Labour government, Rachel Reeves has promised.
The Shadow Chancellor said that one of her first acts in Downing Street would be to review the legal minimum rate that workers can be paid in the UK.
The legal minimum wage is £9.50 an hour for those aged over 23, but the real living wage used by campaigners for fair pay is set at £10.90 an hour.
As a result people whose employers pay the living wage are £3,000 a year better off than those paid the legal minimum.
Reeves told the Labour conference in Liverpool: “On day one as chancellor she will tell the Low Pay Commission to set the minimum wage at a level that reflects the real cost of living.”
She said this will amount to “a genuine living wage”.
In a packed conference hall Reeves presented her self as a safety first chancellor in waiting, promising to look after the nation’s finances and grow the economy by investing in public services and green technology.
Reeves contrasted Labour’s commitment to make every policy fully costed with the Conservative mini-budget that slashed taxes for the wealthy on borrowed money and caused a run on the pound.
She won an standing ovation by convincing delegates Labour was winning the economic debate and questioned if the Tories “even plan to turn up for the fight” on economic competence.
She said: “Labour will never waver in our commitment to fiscal responsibility”
“Every policy that Labour announces and every line in our manifesto will be carefully costed and fully funded.”
Turning fire on the government Reeves said the Prime Minister and Chancellor are “out of control”.
She told the conference: “This Government has undermined the Bank’s independence, sacked the respected permanent secretary to the Treasury and gagged the Office for Budget Responsibility.”
Repeating her comparison of the Prime Minister and Chancellor to “desperate gamblers in a casino chasing a losing run”, she said: “They are not gambling with their money, they’re gambling with yours.
“They’ve lost credibility, they’re losing confidence, they’re out of control.”
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