Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Europe dominates PMQs

Fabian Hamilton kicked off with today’s planted question. Poverty pay in this country has been abolished by the National Minimum Wage, he says, and will Brown increase it and retain his commitment to high employment?  Poverty pay is, of course, alive and well – in those who operate in the booming black market. At least a quarter of a million are paid less than the minimum wage.

Anyway, Brown announces it will be £5.73 this October – a 60% rise from the original minimum wage (Brownie alert – that’s a bogus rather than real terms rise using the £3.60 rate of 1999 as a base). We have created 3m jobs, says Brown (no, the economy has created them and 81% of those jobs are accounted for by immigrants). And just 3% of these jobs are minimum wage jobs.

Cameron led on Europe – a separate issue that we’ll blog on later.

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