to think that the minimum wage should be higher in London

[bottlenecker]

I really do not understand how the national minimum wage can possibly be the same in London as the rest of the country. How on earth can anyone live on that minimum wage?

You are being unreasonable. If the minimum wage is increased, it should be for everyone. No-one has to live IN London. Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff are more expensive too. Should those residents get a rise too?

If these essential workers move out, the firms will pay whatever it takes to replace them. If it is only NMW, then they aren't essential or there is a lot of people happy to work in London at NMW.

Brighton has today been named as the least affordable place to get on the property ladder in the UK. London is only 5th place on the list. Oxford, Chelmsford and Cambridge are 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Also, when I was looking for a written article about ^^ (heard it on the local radio this am), I found this list of the most expensive places to live in the UK. London isn't even in the top ten....

So, again, YABU to think it's a London problem.

People on NMW with a working partner are not likely to be entitled to any benefits or tax credits especially if they don't have children, yet are still expected to earn the same poverty wages.

DP has been paid the same hourly rate for some types of work for pretty much the last 22 years as wages haven't increased in some sectors.

We need to stop cramming people and jobs into one tiny overcrowded corner of the country. All HS2 is going to do is allow more highly paid
London workers to live in the north and their higher purchasing power is going to push out people who live and work locally.

There's already people who commute daily from leeds and York and the season ticket for this costs over £13k per year.

"There is nothing special about London. A house in Bristol or Oxford will cost you just as much as a house in London."

That's just plain wrong.

if you accept the basic idea of a minimum wage, it should be city dependent.

Err saucy on the link where you said london isn't in the top 10, yes it is

Also the house prices in London are clearly higher than oxford etc. Those lists are based on house price versus average wage. The average wage in London is higher however that doesn't help the Londoner who is on the NMW or a low wage. The fact that the average wage there is higher pushes prices up meaning it's obviously less affordable for the low earner.

London has the most expensive accommodation in the country and it is just a fact.

YANBU

Yes the minimum wage should be higher in London, it's one of the world's most expensive cities. Should living in London be the preserve of the super rich? What a depressing thought, a city made up of hedge fund millionaires. Who will sweep the streets, curate the museums and teach in the schools? It needs to be more affordable for working people to live in the capital.

I'm amazed at the idiocy and spite on this thread.

Of course the NMW rates should reflect the cost of living in different areas of the country if these are wildly different and have been made that way by economic policy.

As for 'just move' as a response to high living costs in the SE - well great. Leave our jobs, our communities and our ailing, elderly parents to fare for themselves shall we? Pull our 3 children out of school?

Sheesh, what is it with some people? The lack of common sense.

As for 'just move' as a response to high living costs in the SE - well great. Leave our jobs, our communities and our ailing, elderly parents to fare for themselves shall we? Pull our 3 children out of school?

In fairness, that's what a lot of people in areas other than London have to do, because there are no jobs where they live. Differential wages would surely just make mobility more difficult. It would be even easier for people in the capital to move out, but virtually impossible to go the other way.

Perhaps the solution would be to raise wages in London and the SE, but tax people heavily if they ever moved out!

Jinsai - the property boom in London has been artificially accelerated by idiotic policies like help to buy, right to buy, and tax concessions on rental incomes.

These are the same policies which have made many people very well off.

To break up communities by creating conditions that drive out the poor - well, there's something a bit bloody primitive and desperate about it isn't there? What is this? The 18th century?