Tax Credits (Working Families)

Debate between Rebecca Long Bailey and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 7th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

The problem with the Government’s suggestion that cutting tax credits will lead to higher pay is that the labour market is weighted in favour of the employer, rather than the worker. The only way to restore wage growth across the board, especially in the private sector, is through the expansion of collective bargaining. We simply cannot have wage growth in a country where the erosion of trade union rights is right at the top of the Tory agenda. The Government are doing the exact opposite of what they intend, which is to get people back to work and on decent pay—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. Order! Honestly, we must have short interventions. I want everybody to get to speak. Interventions are not meant to be speeches. We have to help each other today because a lot of people wish to speak. The shorter the interventions, the more people we will get through.