Rising prices will hurt those already affected austerity – John McDonnell

John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor, responding to news that inflation rose to 2.1% in July, said:

“Rising prices will hurt those already affected by nine years of austerity – and nine years of the Tories’ low-pay economy.

“Real wages are still below pre-crisis levels – and the failure of the Tories to boost real wages shows why they cannot be trusted on the economy.

“Labour will establish a real living wage of at least £10 per hour, invest in our public services to end austerity, and end the scourge of the low-pay economy.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

·            The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 2.1% in July 2019, up from 2% in June 2019:https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/july2019

·            TUC research released last Saturday shows that millions of workers have faced cuts in their average hourly pay, adjusted for inflation, since 2010: https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-08/Pay%20in%20working%20class%20jobs_0.pdf