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John McDonnell vows '£10 real living wage in 2020' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Labour would introduce a "real living wage" of at least £10 an hour in 2020 if in power, shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the party's conference. | |
He said that under a Labour government "everyone will earn enough to live on". | |
He also set out plans to end austerity, fight for "the best" Brexit deal and to build a "manufacturing renaissance". | |
A new National Living Wage, which came into force in April, requires employers to pay workers over 25 at least £7.20 an hour, rising to £9 by 2020. | |
Mr McDonnell said Labour had become a "government in waiting", pledging that it would be an "interventionist government" with a "comprehensive industrial strategy" to invest in the UK's future. | |
And he got a standing ovation after ending his speech by saying of his policy programme: "In this party you no longer have to whisper it - it's called socialism." | |
The shadow chancellor - a key ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn on the left of the party - also announced plans: | |
The new mandatory National Living Wage (NLW) was announced in last summer's Budget by the then Chancellor George Osborne, in an effort to create a higher-wage, lower-welfare economy. | |
In a keynote speech at Labour conference in Liverpool, Mr McDonnell said one of Labour's "greatest achievements" was the introduction of a national minimum wage, "lifting millions out of poverty". | |
"The Tories opposed it, claiming it would cost millions of jobs, but - united in purpose - we won the argument," he said. | |
He added: "Under the next Labour government, everyone will earn enough to live on. When we win the next election we will write a real Living Wage into law. | |
"We'll charge a new Living Wage Review Body with the task of setting it at the level needed for a decent life. Independent forecasts suggest that this will be over £10 per hour. | |
"This will be a fundamental part of our new bargain in the workplace." | |
Mr McDonnell, who first announced his hopes of increasing the minimum wage level to £10 a year ago, said there would be support for small businesses to ensure that the higher rate did not cost jobs. | |
Speaking earlier to BBC Breakfast, Mr McDonnell said the UK needed an interventionist government working with the private sector. | |
And he pledged that the UK would borrow in the short term for long-term investment and the "prosperity of the future". | |
Addressing conference, he said digital advances were encouraging firms to return to the UK but the Conservatives were "too blinkered by their ideology" to take advantage. | |
He said Labour would not stand by and let industries such as steel flounder, and he promised to "work with" wealth creators and entrepreneurs. | |
Mr McDonnell said he would commit Labour to supporting major industrial employers and firms in emerging sectors, such as clean energy. | |
Arguing that the tide had turned around the world against "unfettered" globalisation, he claimed advocates of the free market would be unable to fully exploit the opportunities presented by the UK's exit from the EU. | |
Citing the government's response to the steel crisis, its cuts to solar and wind subsidies and its approach to R&D funding, he claimed only Labour could unlock the true potential of the British economy. | |
"Be certain the next Labour government will be an interventionist government," he argued. "We will not stand by like this one has and see our key industries flounder and our future prosperity put at risk." | |
The Labour leadership has alarmed some business leaders by calling for selective nationalisation - including the return of the railways to public ownership - and for business taxes to rise to fund investment and skills training. | The Labour leadership has alarmed some business leaders by calling for selective nationalisation - including the return of the railways to public ownership - and for business taxes to rise to fund investment and skills training. |
But Mr McDonnell - who has previously called for "socialism with an iPad" - rejected claims that the party was anti-enterprise and its approach marked a return to the state planning of the 1970s. | |
"Our government will create an entrepreneurial state that works with the wealth creators, the workers and the entrepreneurs to create the products and the markets that will secure our long-term prosperity," he told BBC Radio 4's Today. | |
Asked whether the party would fight for the UK to stay in the EU single market, Mr McDonnell said: "We want access to the single market... We want the best deal we can get." | Asked whether the party would fight for the UK to stay in the EU single market, Mr McDonnell said: "We want access to the single market... We want the best deal we can get." |
On Labour unity, following Mr Corbyn's re-election on Saturday, Mr McDonnell said there was an "open door" to "virtually all" of the Labour MPs who resigned from the shadow cabinet to return to the front bench. | On Labour unity, following Mr Corbyn's re-election on Saturday, Mr McDonnell said there was an "open door" to "virtually all" of the Labour MPs who resigned from the shadow cabinet to return to the front bench. |
He said he thought Labour was working "pretty well" until the mass walkouts and said it was time to "get back to business". | He said he thought Labour was working "pretty well" until the mass walkouts and said it was time to "get back to business". |
'Turning point' | 'Turning point' |
Mr McDonnell also said he did not anticipate that a reshuffle of Mr Corbyn's team would happen before NEC discussions about elections to the shadow cabinet had concluded. | |
Allies of Mr Corbyn are pressing him to use his increased authority following his re-election to set out bold policies on the economy and the public services - cementing the party's anti-cuts agenda. | Allies of Mr Corbyn are pressing him to use his increased authority following his re-election to set out bold policies on the economy and the public services - cementing the party's anti-cuts agenda. |
Also speaking at the conference, former leader Ed Miliband said the confusion unleashed by the Brexit vote was an opportunity for Labour but only if it spoke for both those who voted to leave as well as remain. | Also speaking at the conference, former leader Ed Miliband said the confusion unleashed by the Brexit vote was an opportunity for Labour but only if it spoke for both those who voted to leave as well as remain. |
Amid calls for the party to unite behind Mr Corbyn, MPs critical of his leadership said they wanted reassurances that there would be no constituency deselections and at least partial elections to the shadow cabinet. | Amid calls for the party to unite behind Mr Corbyn, MPs critical of his leadership said they wanted reassurances that there would be no constituency deselections and at least partial elections to the shadow cabinet. |
Ben Bradshaw told activists "we all want unity as long as it's not the unity of the graveyard". | Ben Bradshaw told activists "we all want unity as long as it's not the unity of the graveyard". |