Osborne's call for minimum wage rise is 'cunning politics'

Press agrees rise is needed, but says timing of announcement is attack on Ed Miliband

George Osborne
(Image credit: Getty)

GEORGE OSBORNE says he wants to see an above-inflation rise in the minimum wage. The Chancellor told the BBC that the improving health of the UK economy meant the country "can now afford" to raise the rate from £6.31 an hour at present to £7 an hour by 2015.

The Times applauds the announcement which, it says, would "return the purchasing power of the minimum wage to the level it was in 2008, since when its value has fallen in real terms".

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