Boost wages and provide secure jobs

New, local and secure jobs will be created as a result of stronger local procurement, better access to finance for businesses to expand, and inward investment, especially in low carbon sectors.

Under my leadership, the North of Tyne Combined Authority will be an accredited Living Wage employer, meaning that everyone who works there gets the Real Living Wage, and all suppliers staff too. As of May 2019, this figure is £9 per hour – the amount people actually need to live on without getting into debt. I will work with Trade Unions to promote the very best in employment practices across the region, and drive an Employment Charter to promote high standards of employment across all sectors.

The Procurement Framework will be used to steer the entire local economy in this direction, by favouring employers who pay the Real Living Wage. When a billionaire gets more money, they tend to invest it in assets or property portfolios. When a working person gets a pay rise, they spend it in the real economy, which creates more spending power locally, and creates more jobs; which in turn creates more local spending power, and so it goes on, in a virtuous circle. The seeds of a fairer, as well as a more prosperous, economy will be planted.