The huge rift in the UK between the working poor, comfortable and over-indulged is increasingly seen as socially divisive, economically unwise and morally repugnant. In the last 10 years, living costs have risen by 300 per cent while the poorest 10 per cent have had income rises of only 55 per cent.
The national minimum wage (NMW) is failing to keep pace with need. It is fixed by a broad church commission and is statutory, which has downward pressure. It is the final safety net under the high wire of abject poverty risk. The Living Wage rate is £7.20 an hour (£8.30 in London) and is hardly a king’s ransom unless you are currently working for £6.19 an hour (the NMW from October 1), and then it can mean the food in a child’s mouth and clothes on their back.
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