News that the prices of some essential food items, from pasta to rice to vegetable oil, have risen by as much as 50% in the last year is a stark reminder that the cost of living crisis is about far more than just the price of home energy – crucial as that is.
Protecting standards of living will require more than just one-off payments from the chancellor of the exchequer. It will need a fundamental shift in how our economy operates, back towards prioritising the earnings of those who work. With the OECD this morning forecasting that, next year, the UK faces the lowest growth of any major developed economy, economic growth alone is unlikely to deliver here.
Our research, published by the Progressive Economy Forum, shows that a £15 an hour minimum wage is a fast and effective way to do this – benefiting the lowest paid the most, restoring pay after a ‘lost decade’ of near-zero pay growth, and protecting workers against inflation.
