Northumberland Labour says one of the biggest responses in its recent survey was about pay.

People responding to the survey, whether they voted Labour or not, expressed concerns about in-work poverty and Universal Credit making it harder for people to work.

Northumberland Labour leader Scott Dickinson says: “Our survey reinforces what we already know; pay and conditions are just not working for many people.

“We’re committed to better pay and conditions for all workers. If you pay people properly they can afford to look after themselves and their families and the economy improves; it’s not rocket science. However we’ve had 11 years of the Tories chipping away at pay and working conditions. It’s going to take some work to turn this around but it’s quite clear that things can’t stay as they are. We’ve got people who can’t get on the housing ladder because they’re paying high rents and which stop them from being able to save, working people depending on food banks to get by and people having to make the choice between heating and eating. This just can’t be right in this day and age.”

A New Deal for Working People is about fundamentally changing our economy so working people have the dignity and security they deserve from their job. Labour plans to increase the minimum wage, ensure sick pay is available, protect workers against unfair dismissal and give workers the right to flexible working.”