Miliband to make Living Wage speech

Ed Miliband is in Islington this morning, meeting ocal government leaders who already pay the Living Wage. Here’s what he’s expected to say:

“There are almost five million people in Britain who aren’t earning the living wage; people who got up early this morning, spent hours getting to work – who are putting in all the effort they can – but who often don’t get paid enough to look after their families, to heat their homes, feed their kids, care for elderly relatives and plan for the future.

“Too many people in Britain are doing the right thing and doing their bit, helping to build the prosperity on which our country depends, but aren’t sharing fairly in the rewards. It’s not how it should be in Britain, it’s not how we will succeed as a country in the years ahead because we can’t go on with an economy that works for a few at the top and not for most people.”

“We need to change it.”

“This Government is stuck in the old mindset: saying nothing can be done and making it worse with tax cuts for millionaires and tax rises for everyone else. It is only a Labour government that will address the living standards crisis faced by so many.”

“Even when money is tight and Britain is run by a Tory-led government, Labour councils have been driving the living wage forward. First in London and now across Britain.

“There are already scores of British businesses who are saying that the living wage makes sense for them because it improves staff retention and reduces absence rates. We will learn from them and find ways to help other businesses become living-wage employers.”