Tory bill to scrap minimum wage pulled
Friday 15th May 2009, 2:04PM BST.
A Conservative MP has withdrawn and postponed a bill calling for the minimum wage to be scrapped until next month.
Eleven other Tories backed the bill tabled by Christopher Chope, who wanted people to be able to “freely negotiate” their pay during the recession.
But after 125 Labour MPs signed an early day motion defending the minimum wage and Gordon Brown used prime minister’s questions to insist it be kept, Mr Chope has postponed the bill until June 12th.
But because the bill is 11th on the order paper it is effectively defeated, said former deputy prime minister John Prescott, who led a campaign against the bill.
“This is a great victory for the campaign,” he said, days after the minimum wage was raised 7p to £5.80 from October onwards.
“It just shows if you can get enough people really annoyed about something, as with this, he’ll cut, he’s run, and minimum wage is kept.
“We raised it this week, he’s cut and run.”
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dear sir
Its a terrible thing to live in fear but at this moment I do fear the coming elections.
With all the recent revelations of sleaze and corruption prevalent among our political leaders I am as disillusioned as the next man in the street with these self serving hypocrites we call MPs
But who do I vote for.
I agree with the main points of the UKIP party about Europe. It’s ludicrous that we should stay within this discredited and costly club when the benefits of belonging are outweighed by vast membership costs and invasive political rulings that defy any common sense. Their view on immigration also is realistic and it is time to shut the gates on this overcrowded island. I am an immigrant myself but it does not take a genius to work out when the system is so close to collapse that disaster is imminent if no action is taken immediately
However my suspicion about UKIP is that within its ranks lurk too many nationalistic leanings that if giving too strong a voice may return to harm me living in the tone of skin that I am. But I am tempted.
My real fear is that with all this uncertainty and loss of faith with the mainstream parties, the BNP will gain ground as more people look for an alternative party that promises simple solutions to a complex problem.
Although I have lived in the UK for 45 years of which 25 have been spent in HM Forces, I now pay tax at 40% so no one can say I am still not contributing to this great country. The BNP would still classify me as undesirable and seek my removal(where to, I don’t know) . My fear grows stronger with every voter they gain as it’s another failure on the part of the mainstream parties and another vote for these hatemongers. No doubt those already within this motley crew are proud that I feel this fear and are smiling but can you imagine if they did get into a position of power. Who would be next on the hitlist? Gays, Disabled people, Gypsies.
Have a protest vote by all means but not this option. This option is dangerous and offers a solution to which the people of this country and others stood up to only 65 years ago.
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aha, i smell a new tory policy that will be hidden somewhere in their manifesto. scrap the minimum wage. i fear the following should be worried if the tories were ever elected
do not be
ill
low paid
mentally ill
chronically sick
if the tories come back. be prepared to wait 18 months and up to 3 years for an operation
is the nhs safe in the tories hands, i think not, let us all hope for the liberals to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament.
the next parliament should be a sweeter place with 300 redundant fiddlers on the dole or in prison!
most sensible people will be making a protest vote or not voting at all. the latter is useless. please vote for a party, ukip liberals greens or a pensioners party. avoid the bnp like the plague please, protest but do vote, as i think both the tories and labour need a bloody nose
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How on earth did the BNP get dragged into a article on minimum wage?
Please keep on subject
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I have no love whatsoever for the BNP But neither have I any for “political pranks” as the one from m singh appears to be. This is to true to be the real thing – it is nothing more than an anti BNP rant, wrapped up in the sort of “emotives” and cliches that tug at the heartstrings of decent people.
If I was to be true to myself, I would say that m singh was far removed from being of immigrant stock. He/she in my eyes and steryotyping would be a sandal wearing, round knecked scruffy sweater wearing, long haired, bearded and ear ringed ultra liberal who does not credit the British people of all colours to use their own judgement, decency and good sense to reject the BNP and not use that party as a “protest vote”.
In short, I think you have been rumbled m singh – please credit the multi racial, multi national, multi religious and every other “multi” – again in short, the ordinary decent British people, to know what the BNP is and we don’t need cheap pranks to alert us to them.
As for cothercote kid, the usual exagerations, but I agree in a way, let’s have Labour back again, that is if we have a democracy left, a parliament and any one decent to fill it, but even if we do, would we have the finance to spend on keeping the country afloat, Labour have spent it all and everything we are likely to earn for the next 30 years. Has it gone down to 20% now, you will be the only one left if it carries on cothercote.
If any Tory wants to lose his seat – and if he is “clean”, let him seriously advocate doing away with the minimum wage. He will get 6 laceholes from Cameron up his posterior – smartish.
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With property prices out of reach of many, the cost of living becoming more expensive and the divide between the highest and lowest paid becoming ever wider, it is surely more important that employers provide a LIVING WAGE, which makes work pay.
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So this is Christopher Chope, barrister, and privately-educated son of a judge. No stranger to privilege he then?
What on earth would he know about living on a low wage? What wisdom could he offer about living on £5.80 per hour?
Chope was one of the pioneers of selling off the country’s council housing stock, no doubt on the back of the idea that it would make people more equal. I wonder how many young couples desperately in need of housing now feel the benefit of that policy? I bet that he and the rest of the Tory grandees would be more than happy to force people to clean their moats for £2.50 an hour.
Let this be a lesson to you if you’re considering voting for them – the Tories have learnt nothing from the complete collapse of Thatcherite economic values in the great bankers greed-fest. They are itching to get back to the 80s when they could cut taxes for the wealthiest whilst punishing the poor simply for being poor.
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