Tag: Poverty

Let’s try to keep politics out of setting minimum wages

The auction continues. One week, Chancellor Philip Hammond is said to be contemplating a large increase in the national minimum wage in an attempt to ‘end low pay’. Next, Labour has responded by extending its plans for a higher £10-an-hour minimum wage to include workers under the age of 18. These might sound like great ideas, … Continue reading Let’s try to keep politics out of setting minimum wages →

Should we try to do without food banks?

I first visited a food bank in 2017 at the invitation of the Trussell Trust, the admirable charity which runs the UK’s largest network of emergency centres providing food to people in crisis. Since then the use of their food banks has continued to grow rapidly, largely due to problems in the benefits system and the transition to … Continue reading Should we try to do without food banks? →