Jeremy Hunt, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced on Monday that the minimum wage in the UK will increase to £11 per hour (equivalent to $13.65) starting in April 2024.
In excerpts from a speech, he is set to deliver at the Conservative Party conference and distributed by the party on Sunday,
Hunt stated that work must pay a proper wage. He went on to say that this is how Conservatives aim to improve the living standards of working people.
The annual Conservative Party conference, which commenced on Sunday in Manchester, takes place amid declining popularity for the ruling party, according to opinion polls, ahead of the scheduled legislative elections in January 2025.
Hunt emphasized that they promised to raise the minimum wage to two-thirds of median earnings to tackle low pay in the country.
Currently, the minimum wage stands at £10.42 ($12.6) per hour. The government estimates that around one million people will benefit from this increase.
Hunt is also set to announce reforms to the welfare system aimed at encouraging unemployed individuals to re-enter the job market.
He will clarify that as businesses struggle to find workers, around a hundred thousand people leave the job market every year, living on welfare, announcing a review of the sanctions system.
He will affirm that those who don’t even look for a job don’t deserve the same welfare that those who behave responsibly receive.
