Labour looks less likely to meet its manifesto pledge to equalise the minimum wage for younger workers before the next election, after the chancellor failed to guarantee the rise would happen within that timeframe. John Healey said on Sunday the government was still committed to the increase but failed to spell out when it would be achieved. In the budget, a rise in the minimum wage was handed to adults – to £13.21– and under-20s – to £11.27 – but a larger rise for younger workers would have been needed to move towards equalisation.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Healey said he would “take it one step at a time” amid fears a rise could exacerbate youth unemployment. Labour’s 2024 manifesto committed to closing the gap on pay for 18- to 20-year-olds, but last week’s budget brought in a blanket increase of 3.9%. Some senior MPs – including the housing secretary, Angela Rayner, while she was out of government – have previously expressed concern at the slow pace of the equalisation.
In June, Rayner warned the government it must deliver on the promise. Healey said on Sunday the government was still committed to the eventual equalisation. But he denied Labour would break its manifesto commitment.
It’s a question of how fast. And I want to make sure that we can look hard at those trade-offs that inevitably are there between jobs and wages. Some thinktanks including the Institute for Fiscal Studies have criticised how the government’s deficit reduction plans seem predicated on making unpopular cuts that are unlikely to be enacted at a crucial electoral moment.
I know that other parties, such as the Conservatives and Reform, claim that they can do crude cuts to welfare,” she said. So that’s not the right way to do it because, frankly, this isn’t realistic.
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