Commenting on Ed Miliband’s speech on the living wage, County Councillor Mark Jewell said,

“Liberal Democrats in Preston have already moved an amendment some years ago to introduce the living wage to all employees of Preston City Council.

“Liberal Democrats support the living wage and we commend those employers who have introduced it.

“However, Instead of asking employers to take on this burden, Liberal Democrats are focusing on making sure people keep as much of the money they earn as possible. That’s why in the Coalition Government, we have cut income tax for people on low and middle incomes. By 2015 tens of millions of people will have had a £700 Income Tax cut and millions more will be taken out of paying tax altogether.

“Those changes mean that someone working full time on the minimum wage will see their income tax bill cut in half, but the Liberal Democrats want to go further. Our policy is for nobody to pay any income tax until they earn more than the minimum wage.

“That’s real help delivered by Liberal Democrats compared to a Labour Party that raised taxes on working people by abolishing the 10p tax rate and left the economy in a mess for others to clear up.”