Healey Says Equal Minimum Wage for Young Workers Will Come One Step at a Time

John Healey has declined to say that 18 to 20 year olds will be paid the same minimum wage as older workers before the next general election. Asked by Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday morning, beside the new Royal Navy frigate HMS Glasgow on the Clyde, the Chancellor answered: "We'll take one step at a time."

That is a different pace from the 2024 Labour manifesto, which promised to end what the party called discriminatory age bands. Wednesday's Budget gave younger workers the same percentage rise as everyone else, and left the gap in place. From April, the rate for 18 to 20 year olds rises to 11.27 pounds an hour. Workers over 20 will be paid at least 13.21 pounds. The increase for both is 3.9 per cent. Read what Wednesday's Budget contained.

What Healey said about his first Budget

Kuenssberg opened by asking how the first Budget had gone. "Well, having got to the weekend, that's a result," Healey said. He argued that people had seen the choice he was making: "to give households and businesses a bit of breathing space." The centre of that choice was a one-off 100 pound energy payment for about 20 million households in council tax bands A to D, paid for in large part by lifting the bank surcharge.

He also marked the change from his old job. As defence secretary he spoke for one department. "I speak for the whole economy now," he said, and he promised that longer-term spending plans, including the path to Nato targets, would come in next year's spending review.

Kemi Badenoch has already treated the wage answer as a concession. In her Commons reply she thanked the Chancellor for "breaking Labour's pledge on the minimum wage for young people", and for what she called a U-turn on Isas. Her wider verdict was that the Budget was "not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough", and that Britain was overspent, overborrowed and overtaxed. Sunday's interview hands her the same line in the Chancellor's own words.

Welfare, defence and the deficit

Healey repeated that bringing the benefits bill down is both a moral and an economic duty, and that the government will change the social security system. He did not put a date on a smaller bill. Alan Milburn's review of young people out of work, education or training, and Stephen Timms's review of disability benefits, are still due this month. On Friday Andy Burnham said he wanted young people off benefits without brutal cuts.

On defence, Healey said the Budget had fully funded the Defence Investment Plan "for the first time". He pointed to next year's spending review as the moment he will set out how 3 per cent of the economy goes to defence. He described the world as dangerous and the threats as rising, and said this government had raised defence spending by a record amount since the Cold War.

Pressed on debt above 97 per cent of the economy, he said fiscal discipline sat at the heart of the statement and that Britain would reduce its deficit faster than any G7 country by 2029. Asked whether some departments could face cuts of up to 6 per cent over a couple of years, he said he was "prepared to take hard decisions".

An apology, and no reparations

The interview closed on the Commonwealth. Andy Burnham wrote on Friday that he was open to a formal apology for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade, and that he would offer talks to countries and campaign groups. He ruled out making today's taxpayers pay reparations. Healey echoed him. The government is open to an apology, he said, "particularly ahead of the Commonwealth leaders conference". He said people in Britain now should not carry the financial liability for events of hundreds of years ago in which they had no role.

The King is already in Antigua for that conference, and the Palace has said Tuesday's speech will meet the history with "unflinching honesty" while leaving policy to ministers. Follow the King's words at CHOGM. The wage pledge, the welfare reviews and the Bank's meeting on Thursday are the tests that now sit with Healey at home.