Labour says apparent U-turn was 'yet another example of chaos and incompetence at the heart of government policymaking'

i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword

Pop: billy bragg

It made sense for the daughter of socialist folkie Woody Guthrie to ask our own political troubadour Billy Bragg to set a bunch of her late father's lyrics to music. The resulting Mermaid Avenue album was a gem. On tour, he'll be combining Guthrie numbers with some of his own, as well as championing "the cause", this time the GMB campaign to include young people in the minimum wage set-up. Support comes from quirky popsters and fellow Essex boys Hefner.

Parliament: The House - Minutes of hope for Redwood

JOHN REDWOOD, the Shadow Trade Secretary, accused Peter Mandelson of not having read the minutes of evidence given before the independent Monetary Policy Committee yesterday.

Anti-poverty challenge

THE GOVERNMENT is to be challenged over poverty and low wages by the Labour Party's biggest single financial benefactor.

Men's pay moves ahead of women's ale and female pay gap widens

THE PAY gap between men and women has widened for the first time in a decade and the gulf between the highest and lowest paid is also expanding, official data revealed yesterday.

Pay gap widens between rich and poor, men and women

THE PAY gap between men and women has widened for the first time in a decade and the gulf between the highest and lowest paid is also expanding, official data revealed yesterday.

Podium: Decent pay for all, please, Tony

From a speech by the general secretary of Unison to the TUC in Blackpool

Podium: Room for a new mass workers' party

DAVE NELLIST

Minimum wage 'denies work'

THE MINIMUM wage will deny people the chance to work, the new CBI president said yesterday. The pounds 3.60-an-hour rate, to be implemented by the National Minimum Wage Act, was at the "top end" of the range the CBI saw as being "workable", said Sir Clive Thompson, chief executive of Rentokil Initial. "What I'm really against is the issue, simply because I think it denies people the opportunity of being employed," he told the BBC1 Breakfast With Frost.

Jobs warning

Jobs warning

Boost for Blair over pay for the young

A NATIONAL minimum wage does cost young employees' jobs, says an authoritative new report issued yesterday, vindicating the Government's controversial announcement of a lower minimum wage for young workers up to the age of 21.

Any job is better than none

Outlook

Minimum wage `is no threat to jobs'

SMALL BUSINESSES

`It's impossible to have any kind of life on this pay. I'd pay all my bills then run out of money and not eat properly'

Lisa Dugdale is 22. And she thinks that the minimum wage plan will turn young people into second-class citizens.

Beckett gets rough ride over pounds 3 wage

MINIMUM WAGE
Career Services

Day In a Page

Independent Travel Shop See all offers »
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more
California and the golden west
14 nights from £1,499pp Find out more
Venice city break
Two nights from only £199pp - third night free on selected dates Find out more
Blu St Lucia, St Lucia, Caribbean
Up to 42% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Hotel Savoy, Rome, Italy
Up to 61% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
Spa day at Nutfield Priory Hotel, Redhill, Surrey
Up to 30% off
OFFER ENDS 26 MAY Find out more
James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again