Boris Johnson tells Beth Rigby she’s trying to ‘blame government’

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The Times has revealed Boris Johnson, 57, will make the announcement as a part of his pledge to end the UK’s “broken” low-wage, low-growth economic model. The broadsheet reports the increase is likely to come after the Prime Minister accepts recommendations made by independent advisors in the coming weeks.

The Low Pay Commission submit annual proposals to the Government to change the rate and are expected to make their most up-to-date suggestion by the end of the month.

In April, the LPC released a report that suggested its 2022 recommendation would ask to increase the national living wage to £9.42.

The national living wage for people aged over 23 is currently £8.91.

For somebody working a 35-hour week, the 5.7 percent pay increase would boost their pre-tax annual pay by £928-a-year.

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The Prime Minister is not however expected to make the announcement at the Conservative Party’s conference in Manchester.

When pushed by Sky News’ Beth Rigby after failing to rule out an increase to the national living wage, the Prime Minister said: “You should wait and see what Rishi does, we will do everything we can to look after people in the months ahead.”

The national living wage was brought in by ex-Chancellor George Osborne in 2016.

When the national living wage was first introduced, over 25-year-olds were paid a minimum of £7.20 per hour.

Mr Johnson’s pledge to create a high-wage, high-growth economy comes as total pay rates in the UK reach their highest level since 2001.

Reports suggest the Prime Minister will use today’s party conference speech to say he has the “guts” to tackle what matters to the UK and to level-up the country.

He is expected to tell Tory Party members: “After decades of drift and dither, this reforming Government, this can-do Government that got Brexit done, is getting the vaccine roll-out done and is going to get social care done.

“We are dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society; the problems that no Government has had the guts to tackle before.”

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It is believed Mr Johnson will add that “we are not going back to the same old broken model with low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity, all of it enabled and assisted by uncontrolled immigration”.

However, while wages are on the rise, so is inflation.

CNBC reported last month how Britain’s inflation rate surged by 3.2 percent over the 12-month period preceding August.

The US network added the increase was the largest ever month-on-month increase since records began in January 1997.

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