National Minimum Wage Increase

[good96]

With the NMW increase from April 2025 rising to £12.21 - for someone who works 40 hours a week - that is £25,400!

Can see so many businesses struggling/restructuring/redundancies after this!

The issues in 2008 were caused by a world wide collapse of the then financial banking system, made far far worse by the US allowing Lehmans to collapse... and that it required 10 years of Austerity to fix it..... Labour was actually praised by the opposition on how they dealt with it....

Very disappointing you blame Labour for a global problem, would be like me blaming Covid on the Conservatives.

The Tories took many years to cancel the 2nd leg of HS2, that deal cost the country over £29 billion, money gone forever and 3 times higher than the loss sustained by selling Gold by Gordon Brown.

But as its too late to cancel the first leg, it may as well go into Euston and link in with the original HS line.

Yes 100% agree on more traditional lines being built.

NHS issues are caused by never ending demand, lack of staff and equipment, just been to my running club and a community Physio there was telling me that her stroke patients are getting younger and younger, even one who isn't even 30.

I'm not sure i understand that a Govt that hasn't enacted very much at all, business wise, until yesterday, is somehow responsible for your DH's business collapse.... surely decisions weren't made on what anyone said they would do but then didn't.

@Alexandra2001

"But we simply don't know this yet."

Well it's what Reeves herself has stated today.

My DH’s business hasn’t ‘collapsed’. It operates in a sector which has been challenged by decisions made at a governmental level and then the subsequent support (made on good authority) did not materialise. 60 people does not represent a large percentage of the total workforce but it is 60 people who will no longer be employed. There will be smaller firms who will actually collapse under the extra burden placed on them.

I’m not blaming the Labour Party for a global financial collapse but I think anyone who was around in 2010 was pretty much disgusted by Liam Byrne’s crass note left for his successor. It did nothing to convey competence.

i’n glad we can agree on the need for better rail infrastructure. I’m curious as to why you’ve chosen to ignore the upcoming ASLEF strike?

The NHS (like teaching) needs to stop the exodus of staff leaving. It isn’t just a pay issue - it’s a huge issue of being subjected to daily abuse,

@Alexandra2001

"It will mean that businesses will have to absorb some of this through profits and it is likely to mean that wage increases might be slightly less than they otherwise would have been,"

Angela Reeves

The Liam Byrne note was, as i understand it, was part of a long standing tradition of leaving joke notes, a similar note left for Labour in 1997.... bad taste and leapt on by the media but i bet it will never be repeated again.

Sorry i missed the Aslef/Rmt planned strike, a disagreement with TFL, hopefully it wont happen, as per the TLF website, talks are still on going.

Again i agree on NHS, pay is pretty important in terms of retention but so is how staff are treated too, its extremely difficult to improve staff conditions when demand is through the roof & its not just management treating staff, my DD would daily be called names, even assaulted when she worked in a district hospital, often by patient families, who would not accept what they were being told, they knew best, often around discharges and family involvement in care.

I ve been made redundant a few years ago, its awful, the worry and stress about finding alternative work, paying bills etc etc so i'm not being flippant about your DH's situation, i just don't see how Labour are somehow responsible, when they've hardly been in power.

I do hope that Labour will exempt GPs Care Homes and Hospices etc from the NI rises, i don't agree with levying that onto the privatised care & charity sectors.

A treasury spokesperson has said they are in talks about this, overriding what a minister said.

Love it ..... Angela Reeves!!!

Of course they'll be knock on affects but i did think that (so the Cons told us) wage rises are responsible for inflation, so surely thats a good thing?

Something i do believe you've argued for previously.

A treasury spokesperson has said they are in talks about this, overriding what a minister said.

Minister, Darren Jones on BBC this morning seemed to be saying tough, they are not exempt

@Alexandra2001

Love it ..... Angela Reeves!

Sorry my mistake, clearly meant Rachel Reeves.

@Alexandra2001

wage rises are responsible for inflation, so surely thats a good thing?

Something i do believe you've argued for previously."

Indeed wage rises do contribute to inflation both from a cost perspective to employers who put up their prices to compensate for higher costs and demand perspective where people have more money and can buy more stuff increasing demand and prices.

However making people better off through tax cuts is a better option as it avoids the cost perspective to employers but still has the demand perspective and is therefore less inflationary than wage rises.

Extra money in ones pocket might make people feel better off but that assumption is quickly gone when you get a £800 bill for pothole damage or you have to find £1200 for dental treatment.

Hunts irresponsible NI cuts, have led to this budget & for election reasons, Labour couldn't campaign on reversing these cuts, you and the media would have roasted Starmer, probably assuring Lab lost the GE.

So the money now has to be found, along side NHS, Teacher and military pay rises, which Hunt himself set the parameters for but never fully funded.

All done of course to try and wreck Labours chances in office.... Tories are nothing but devious.

On pay rises being inflationary, funny how we'd had v low pay rises leading into the increase in inflation to 11% but following average pay rises of anywhere between 5 and 10%, inflation has fallen to below the BOE target rate of 2%...

@Alexandra2001

I think this constant reference back to tories is poor pr for labour.

For Tory supporters, harking back to the GFC in 2008, Brown sold the Gold and Blairs PFI deals.... does seem to be perfectly ok.

But mention the unfunded tax cuts Hunt/Sunak did just a few months ago and suddenly thats irrelevant........

No I'm a swing voter.
I'm not a tory.

But what you have just referenced are huge moves that still make an impact today

Tbh, I’d prefer a fully working NHS to tax cuts-especially since I and dh are paying £120 pm for PMI just in case we do need healthcare our local NHS services are very poor. I don’t care about the model-state, private, combination, co pay as long as it works and everyone is covered. That £120 would need some serious tax cut.

Why? They’ve only been in power a few months-austerity and Brexit have had a massive effect which will last for years. I still hear Blair blamed for wanting people to go to university-27 years later.

What about blaming Blair for opening the doors to student fees.

@Ozgirl75 I know the definition. You are making huge assumptions that someone in a MW job "should" do further training. Don't assume my love perhaps they have studied and due to MANY factors they are doing a MW job!. They could be a student or have poor health they are numerous reasons...everyone can't be at the top.

Looking at the history of NMW at a certain point where I felt I had money and was comfortable, since then NMW has increased by more than doubling (factor of 2.28) whereas my wage has increased by a factor of 1.37 working in the same company for that time and I now feel like I have to watch what I spend even though I am highly qualified and competent with lots of experience.
I don't begrudge minimum wage increase but I do get annoyed with public sector bleating about their wages and striking and annoyed by my industry that just offloads to other countries or suppresses wages when it gets too expensive for shareholders and no-one bats an eyelid

I've done plenty of minimum wage jobs over the years. I've also had to do additional training ( mostly online ) in my own time ( or able to claim half hour overtime when it sometimes takes longer )
You need a lot more these days than you did years ago , a lot of it is company tick box criteria or safeguarding ( as I work with children )
There seems to be a lot of paperwork with any job. It's good that it exists, but it's all things that need doing and nothing is particularly easy.

What's my love mean

Workers deserve the wage the market places on the value of their productivity.
You start up your own business or additional qualification to increase the value of your productivity.