Treasury Secretary refuses to commit to equalising minimum wage by next election - as Labour accused of breaking manifesto pledge

Chief Treasury Secretary Emma Reynolds has refused to commit to equalising the minimum wage, just days after Burnham's first Budget - and despite it being one of Labour's key election pledges. Ms Reynolds was grilled by LBC's Ben Kentish on Sunday after she was unable to back her party's own policy on the minimum wage. In 2024, Labour committed to closing the gap between the adult minimum wage and pay for 18 to 20-year-olds. The blanket 3.9 per cent increase announced in this week's Budget had prompted questions about Labour’s promise to equalise minimum wage pay for younger workers.

Unions have previously expressed concerns over such a delay, with Labour MP today speaking of a "trade-off" that has to happen. Read more: Burnham warned formal apology for slavery will open door to reparations demands Read more: Unrest across Europe as shops looted in Germany and violent scenes in France as policeman 'set on fire' She told Ben: "Since the election we have reduced the gap by a third between the minimum wage for young people as you've talked about and that for those over the age of 21.

"But as the Chancellor has rightly said, there is a trade-off here and a balance between people's wages and the cost of doing business." Chancellor John Healey has refused to say whether Labour will meet its manifesto pledge to ensure younger workers on the minimum wage are paid the same as others by the next election. He told the BBC that the Government would “take it one step at a time” and signalled that the promise to end “discriminatory age bands” might be delayed.

The Chancellor added that he had accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission and raised both the national minimum wage and national living wage. Ms Reynolds continued to reaffirm what Mr Healey said about taking it step by step. "As the Chancellor said, we will do this in a careful way and we'll do it step by step," she told LBC. "I'm not going to get ahead of that. We've already closed the gap. We will continue to make progress but we will do so with the economic conditions and the circumstances in mind.

"What I'm saying is that we will continue to make progress but we will only do that if the economic conditions allow." The minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over is currently £12.71 an hour and this will rise to £13.21, while the rate for workers aged ‌18 to 20 will go up from £10.85 an hour to £11.27. The gap had been narrowing in recent years, and in April this year the minimum wage for young workers rose by 8.5 per cent. The minimum wage will increase by 3.9 per cent for both young and older workers in April 2027.

However, the tax thresholds remain frozen, meaning more income risks being included in a higher tax bracket. Ms Reynolds added: "What I don't think is fair is that there are so many young people struggling to find work, and what I want to do is unlock opportunities for them with local employers in my constituency who want to take on young people but say sometimes that cost is a barrier. "We've got to strike a balance here between jobs on the one hand and wages on the other."