HC Deb 04 November 1999 vol 337 cc465-6
4. Mr. Ivan Henderson (Harwich)

What research he has commissioned on the link between the introduction of the national minimum wage and levels of poverty. [95825]

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Stephen Byers)

The latest results from the new earnings survey show that the introduction of the national minimum wage has removed the worst excesses of low pay. Coupled with the introduction of the working families tax credit, we expect literally millions of workers to be lifted out of poverty pay.

Mr. Henderson

Did that research cover seaside resorts with areas of high social deprivation such as the one that I represent? The Government's policies on the minimum wage, the working families tax credit and the new deal have started to raise families in my constituency out of poverty. Is that not the clear difference between this Government and the Conservative party, which offers no help and no hope to my constituents? The Labour party offers them self-help and self-confidence.

Mr. Byers

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Those on the Opposition Front Bench have put on the record their views on the national minimum wage. The hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan) called it a "cretinous idea"—he should know. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Mrs. Browning), who leads for the Conservative party on this issue, said that she was fundamentally opposed to the introduction of a national minimum wage. That is still their position, Madam Deputy Speaker, and it is the defining line between our two parties. We are in the mainstream of British politics; we are creating prosperity linked with compassion. By linking the national minimum wage and the working families tax credit, we shall lift literally millions of hard-working parents out of poverty to the benefit of themselves and their children.

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)

I must apologise on behalf of the Secretary of State for that oversight. We all know that you are Madam Speaker, not Madam Deputy Speaker.

Madam Speaker

I have been called worse.

Miss McIntosh

Does the Secretary of State agree that we do not need any research to prove that the introduction of the minimum wage, taken together with the increase in national insurance contributions, has put people the length and breadth of this country out of work and will lead to increases in poverty? What is the Government's answer to that?

Mr. Byers

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to respond to that point. The former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major), said that the introduction of the national minimum wage would cost millions of jobs. In reality, traditionally low-paid sectors, such as the retail and hotel and catering industries, have seen an increase in employment since the minimum wage was introduced. Those are the facts. I know that the hon. Lady, like most Conservative Members, would prefer dogma, rather than fact, to rule, but we shall not base our policies on prejudice. We shall do what is right for hard-working families.