Local MP Cathy Jamieson has said that only the Labour Party can be trusted to increase the level of the Minimum Wage.

The Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP was commenting following a Labour Party Opposition Debate on the Minimum Wage in the UK Parliament.

She also criticised the coalition Government for allowing the Minimum Wage to fall in real terms since 2010, and the Scottish Government for blocking Scottish Labour proposals to include payment of the Living Wage as a condition of public contracts.

A Labour Government will establish a Low Pay Commission which will bring the Minimum Wage closer to average earnings and increase it by 58 per cent, to £8 per hour, by 2020.

Cathy said: “Low pay is one of the biggest problems facing the UK and only the Labour Party can be trusted to address it. “A Labour Government will establish a Low Pay Commission which will ensure that the Minimum Wage is brought closer to average wages, and increased by 58%, to £8 per hour, by 2020. We will be tougher on companies that fail to pay the Minimum Wage and give tax breaks to companies that pay the Living Wage.

“In stark contrast, both the Tories and the SNP have failed to tackle low pay. Under this Tory-led Government, working people have seen their wages fall by an average of £1600 a year. Meanwhile, the SNP Government voted against Scottish Labour’s proposals to make the Living Wage a condition of public contracts.

“The Labour Party introduced the Minimum Wage, and only the Labour Party can be trusted protect and increase it – in Scotland and throughout the UK.”