Sir Tim Martin says there has been an ‘unthinking retreat from market forces’ as Rachel Reeves plans to increase the national living wage above target inflation, The Sunday Times reports
The boss of JD Wetherspoon has accused ministers of an “unthinking retreat from market forces” after it emerged that Rachel Reeves plans to raise the national living wage in her November budget.
Sir Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the pub chain, raised the alarm over soaring costs in the hospitality industry and warned over the impact on firms.
He said: “The hospitality industry has been squeezed between a doubling of energy costs since 2019 and a rocketing wage bill — pushing up costs, simultaneously, for all suppliers to the industry.
“The problem is an unthinking retreat from market forces, with the politicisation of the commanding heights of enterprise — wages and energy — and a blissful unawareness of the long-term economic consequences.”
His comments come after The Times reported that the chancellor plans to increase the national living wage from £12.21 to at least £12.70 an hour in a bid to improve living standards across Britain. The government also plans to extend the living wage to workers between 18 and 21.
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