Nottingham South MP, Lilian Greenwood is supporting a Bill being presented in Parliament to raise the value and restore the ambition of the National Minimum Wage.

The Bill, introduced by Labour MP for Barnsley Central and Nottingham native Dan Jarvis, calls on the Government to introduce an ambitious target to increase the minimum wage over the course of a Parliament, as part of a national mission to tackle low pay. It would also give the Low Pay Commission new powers to raise productivity and tackle low pay in different sectors of the economy.

Jarvis, a former paratrooper, was selected in a ballot of all MPs, giving him the chance to propose his own Private Members Bill on a topic of his choice.

The Bill will be scheduled for debate in the House of Commons in November. The Labour Party will support the Bill and use the months before then to call on MPs from all parties to support the new law.

Lilian said:

“The National Minimum Wage was one of the last Labour Government’s proudest achievements and ended the scandal of people going to work for as little as £1 an hour.

“Today 1 in 5 employees – over 5 million people -; are trapped in low paid jobs. With the value of the national minimum wage having declined by 5% since 2010, many of my constituents are struggling to make ends meet.

“That is why I am supporting Dan’s Bill to ensure that we maintain the bond between our national wealth and the wages that people take home for a hard day’s work.”