The Thatcherite commentator and former head of Downing Street’s Home Policy Unit has taken a turn to the left with his latest book, The New Few. He speaks to Christopher Silvester about why even free-market apologists on the right need to start taking action against growing inequality.
‘We old Thatcherites used to think that the minimum wage was the work of the Devil and would create mass unemployment. But it turned out not to be the case, because it was set so low. Adopting the Living Wage in places such as the headquarters of HSBC, where it’s a very small number of people who are affected, is unlikely to distort the labour market. Again, I think it’s something where you don’t need to have a new law, but rather to encourage better practice. And it wouldn’t be a drain on the Exchequer,’ says Ferdinand Mount.
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The Thatcherite commentator and former head of Downing Street’s Home Policy Unit has taken a turn to the left with his latest book, The New Few. He speaks to Christopher Silvester about why even free-market apologists on the right need to start taking action against growing inequality. We’ll be publishing the full interview online tomorrow.
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