Latest editorial
A THIRD more people working full-time are struggling to get by on wages which have fallen below 2008’s recession rates, according to a study released yesterday.
And when added to Tory welfare cuts, Britain’s flatlining pay rates and lack of opportunities have pushed a staggering 28 per cent of the population (11.6 million) to the point where their incomes are below minimum standards.
This compares to poverty rates which hit 21 per cent in 2008-9, at the start of the bankers’ recession. The number is expected to grow further in future with cuts to the Universal Credit benefit system.
Labour will find increases in the state pension age are unacceptable, just as cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, personal independence payments and universal credit are — it needs to change direction immediately, writes PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
It’s the dramatic rise of China with its burgeoning economy that has put the Trump administration into a frenzy – with major implications both at home and abroad, argues MICHAEL BURKE