Am I right to be highly suspicious about this?

[QueenBathsheba]

Does anyone realise that the same group of tory MPs put forward both the amendments to the national minimum wage bill and they have put forward the bill to compell people to volunteer.

Does anyone else think there is a link between these two bills!

National minimum wage ammendement

Mr Christopher Chope, supported by Mr Peter Bone, Mr Mark Field, Mr David Nuttall and Mr Douglas Carswell, presented a Bill to enable the national minimum wage to be varied to reflect local labour market conditions; and for connected purposes.

Volunteering Bill

Mr Christopher Chope, supported by Mr Peter Bone, Philip Davies, Mr Philip Hollobone, Mr David Nuttall and Priti Patel, presented a Bill to make provision to promote volunteering.

I feel that there is a not too terribly well hidden agenda to devalue labour in certain sectors such as caring and social work.

Will all caring, social and public service jobs be undermined by less than minimum wage rates, conscripted volunteers and will large private companies make huge profits from human missery and slave labour?

I can't see Clegg and his cronies going along with that as it would be political suicide for the Lib Dems.

I think you concerns are misplaced in this instance. Chope is a prolific introducer of Bills, so there is scope for co-incidence around him. He has also introduced a Bill seeking reforms ro BBC accountability and

Reporting of Accidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulation Bill
Local Government Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill
Low Hazard Workplaces (Risk Assessment Exemption) Bill
Self Employment (Risk Assessment Exemption) Bill
Health and Safety Consultants (Qualifications) Bill
Activity Centres (Young Persons' Safety) (Amendment) Bill
Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Bill
Volunteering Bill
Road Traffic Accident (Personal Injury) (Amendment) Bill
National Health Service Redress (Amendment) Bill
Compensation (Limitation) Bill
Criminal Records (Public Access) Bill

Minimum Wage Amendement Bills are presented to Parliament frequently (annually? I remember there were ones in 2009 and 2010' but am a bit hazy about earlier).

Well, the 'national minimum wage to be varied' idea just plain stinks, given that what they mean is, the poorest working people in our country may be squeezed even further. Thanks for drawing attention to it. What utterly vile people they must be.

Chope, Bone, Field, Nuttall and Carswell's names are going on my little list.

I thought campaigners for the London Living Wage had been pushing for some time for enabling legislation like this?

Yes mpsw the Bill for the minimum wage has been presented by Chope on several occasions since 1995.

According to another poster on the Big Society thread, chope tried to defend his right to pay an employee 87p an hour in 1995.

Dotnet, It stinks doesn't it.

Dave Cameron is trying to pull the wool over peoples eyes. If he has such contempt for ordinary people that he believes we can't make the link between the big society and the cuts. He is probably contemptuous enough to think we should either work for peanuts or be forced to volunteer for benefits.

I am very worried that millions of people are going to be written off and denied the right to paid work and equality.

Here is a link to Ed Miliband's support for local Living Wages (not just London, but several other cities too]].

Interesting that Chope was presenting a bill for a minimum wage in 1995 - this was 4 years before the first Act introducing it was passed.

NO I am not saying chope presented the Bill in 1995, I said since 1995.

Why would an MP who defends his right to pay 87p an hour have an interest in ensuring London has a higher minimum wage.

Sorry too cynical to believe that this leopard has changed his spots.

Does anyone know what his vested interests are, his collegues too. I am willing to bet that Chope and co have vested interests or shares in private companies that are just waiting to hop into the void that the cuts have created.

I have looked at the link, thank you but if you go to the parlimentary website, you can read most of the Bills, but the detail on this Bill is not available.

So without knowing what the legal wording of the Bill is I still feel that it is a move to undermine the minimum wage.

If you re-write legislation to include "in certain sectors, in certain areas etc,,, the minimum wage does not apply, then there can be a shift in either direction, up or down.

This makes a mockery of the term minimum wage, however they can not remove the original Bill from the statute books can they, so they can only make ammendments.

QueenBathsheba: he wasn't an MP until 1997, so something's wrong there.

But, I've done some more googling. Although amendments at the Minimum Wage as per the headline could be a Good Thing, if you came at it from a Living Wage perspective; I've found an account of his speech in Parliament introducing this Bill, you are right - he is coming at it from the other end link.

Worth noting, though, that no-one spoke against him , and that it is a Private Members Bill - not a Government sponsored one.

PS: that link is from the 2009 introduction (which was thrown out), haven't found anything more up to date . The Second Reading of the current version is due on 4 March, and (like all Private Bills) probably won't be published until close to that time.

Thank you Meditrina,

Yes the Bill will be read again on the 4th March.

I think if this Bill goes through it will allow the Government to continue their march towards complete privatisation. It is highly unlikely that senior conservatives will vote against this.

Has it happened yet?

During business questions on 3 March, Commons Leader Sir George Young said the government would be opposing the bill, so I'm hoping for news of failure soon.

Bill abandoned - Chope withdrew it as there was no Govt support.