A rise in the London Living Wage to more than £10 to reflect the sky-high cost of housing was backed by Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan today.
The frontrunner to replace Boris Johnson used a keynote speech to urge the Living Wage Commission to change the way it calculates the recommended minimum earnings to better mirror the pressure on families in the capital.
Mr Khan called on businesses to see it as a “badge of honour” to pay staff the Living Wage, currently £9.40 per hour in London and £8.25 elsewhere.
The complex calculation to set the rate is thought to underplay the capital’s housing costs. Mr Khan, who urged it to identify “a more consistent, fair formula”, is writing to the body.
“Of principal importance for Londoners will be the inclusion of a real reflection of the cost of housing and the extent of its impact on in-work poverty,” he said.
He was speaking at the Resolution Foundation think tank which yesterday revealed a million Londoners live in homes where half the earnings are spent on housing — more than anywhere else in the country.
