Emily Thornberry
Main Page: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)Department Debates - View all Emily Thornberry's debates with the HM Treasury
(11 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gloria De Piero
Absolutely. That is why we have pledged to tackle the abuse of zero-hours contracts. Flouting of the minimum wage is also a particular problem in the care sector.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, and I congratulate her on it.
A high proportion of children who live in poverty in my constituency have unemployed parents, and a high proportion have only one parent. The cheapest full-time nursery place costs more than £160 a week; it takes the vast majority of a weekly minimum wage to pay for that alone, before paying rent. This is the Britain that the Government have given us.
Gloria De Piero
I have nothing to add to what my hon. Friend has said. She has put it perfectly.
The next Labour Government will offer a simple deal to employers: 32p off tax on every pound that they spend on paying workers the living wage during our first year in office. Tackling the cost-of-living crisis means taking action to increase wages and keep the benefit bill down.