I WOULD like to join Mark Garnier MP in welcoming the reduction in unemployment.

However, while it is good to see falling unemployment, the same figures show pay increasing by only 0.3 per cent, falling far behind inflation. This means the people of Wyre Forest are getting worse off.

They aren’t seeing signs of recovery in their pockets with the cost-of-living crisis leaving them over £1,600 a year worse off since 2010.

Wyre Forest workers and their families are working harder for much lower living standards. According to the Government’s own data for Wyre Forest, the average weekly wage in 2010 was £412 under Labour and this dropped to £355 by last year (a drop of 16%). At the same time prices have risen by 15% according to Government RPI figures.

In the last set of Government income data for Wyre Forest, 5,593 Wyre Forest workers were receiving wages below Government poverty levels. No wonder the food banks in Kidderminster are so busy.

Over 60% of Britain’s poor today are working people. While employment levels are high, too many of these new jobs are poorly paid, part-time or zero-hours contracts.

It is very difficult to believe how things are getting better for families in Wyre Forest under this Government. We urgently need action to get local people into work.

This is why Labour is calling for a compulsory jobs guarantee, which will get any adult out of work for more than two years, or young person out of work for a year, into a job – one they would be required to take.

However, work in itself is not enough. It has to be well paid and secure. That is why Labour introduced the minimum wage and is now pushing for a living wage.

An out-of-touch government is failing to stand up for people who work hard, do the right thing and contribute but are left struggling to make ends meet. A Labour government would tackle the cost-of-living crisis by raising the minimum wage, getting more homes built, extending free childcare provision, freezing gas and electricity bills and getting the next generation into work with a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee. Wyre Forest can’t wait any longer for action. The Tories must get off their hands and start helping now before they condemn a whole generation to joblessness.

Dr Matt Lamb Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest.