Women and those based outside London and the South East will be the biggest winners from the government’s Budget announcement of a
new national living wage (NLW), for all over-25s that will reach over £9 an hour by 2020.

The analysis shows that eight out of ten people who gain from the national living wage are based outside London and the South East, with the North West expected to see the largest number of people getting a pay rise. There, an estimated 350,000 people are getting a pay rise by 2020 while overall 750,000 people in the North are set to benefit directly from the policy.

In the Midlands 550,000 low paid workers are expected to see their salary go up by 2020, compared to 500,000 workers in London and the South East.

Across the country 2.7 mi working people are expected to see a boost to their wages by 2020.

The analysis also shows 65% of winners are expected to be women.

Welcoming these figures, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, said:

“Last week I delivered a Budget to move our whole nation from a low wage, high tax, high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy. Because we’ve taken tough choices to drive down borrowing, make our business tax competitive and reform welfare, I have been able to ask business to lift the wages of the lowest paid across the country.

“Rebalancing our economy is central to our long term plan and that is why it is so important to me that it is in the regions outside of the capital, and in the Northern Powerhouse in particular, that most working people will stand to gain.

“It’s also right that with more women in the workplace than ever, we do all we can to support them. Two thirds of those who will benefit from the new national living wage are women, which is something I hope everyone will celebrate.

“Britain deserves a pay rise – and I am making sure it gets one.”