The UK's minimum wage is set to increase to £11 per hour in April 2024, impacting two million individuals and offering full-time workers an extra £1,000 annually. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will announce this at the Conservative Party conference, emphasizing the party's commitment to reducing low pay and reaching a National Living Wage of two-thirds of median income by October 2024.
Amid rising living costs and a recent decrease in inflation, the Conservatives, trailing in polls, are proposing policies before the expected 2025 elections. They are also planning benefits system reforms to motivate the unemployed to seek work. Despite low unemployment rates and gradual advancement in employment conditions post-
COVID and Brexit, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reports many in Britain are struggling, skipping meals due to inadequate state support and high food prices.