Starmer launches Labour local election campaign and defends ‘difficult decisions’ over dropped pledges– as it happened

Keir Starmer launches Labour local election campaign in the West Midlands Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA

4.16pm GMT

Afternoon summary

• Keir Starmer has told voters he cannot “turn the taps on” to fix the crisis in local authority funding as he was quizzed on how Labour would plug councils’ £4bn gap at the launch of its local election campaign.

• Angela Rayner has said she did “absolutely nothing wrong” when she sold her council house after the police announced they were reviewing a decision not to investigate.

• Official figures have confirmed that the UK economy went into recession at the end of last year, after the latest estimate found it contracted in the last two quarters of 2023.

• Scotland could become the first part of the UK to offer terminally ill adults assistance to end their lives if Holyrood approves a new bill.

4.08pm GMT

Low Pay Commission suggests extending national living wage to all over-18s, in line with Labour's plan

Labour has welcomed a call from the Low Pay Commission (LPC) for the government to ensure all workers over the age of 18 get the “national living wage” (NLW).

This is already Labour party policy, and its endorsement by the LPC is particularly gratifying because the commission is chaired by Philippa Stroud, a Conservative peer.

In advice to government the LPC says:

The report also shows that the gap between the youth rates and the NLW has widened in recent years. The LPC believes this should be addressed; the gap is large by historical and international standards, is regarded as excessive and unfair by many stakeholders, and median pay for young workers has grown faster than their minimum wages, reflecting healthy demand for young workers. There is scope to reduce the gap without negative employment consequences and, if the evidence continues to support it, move towards an adult rate that begins at 18.

The last Labour government introduced a national minimum wage, in the face of opposition from the Tories. But in 2015 the Conseratives introduced a beefed-up version of the minimum wage, which paid more and was only available to over-25s. It is called the “national living wage” (even though it is not the same as the annual living wage set by the Living Wage Foundation – a charity that that determines how much people need to earn an hour to cover basic needs).

The government has been gradually reducing the age at which people can qualify for the “national living wage”, and from 1 April workers over the age of 21 will get it. But Labour says it should apply to anyone over 18.

Labour also wants to end zero-hours contracts because it thinks they are unfair on workers. The LPC is proposing something similar. In its report it says:

Many stakeholders have warned that the NLW’s impact is welcome, but that low-paid workers’ earnings can still vary substantially and unpredictably because of ‘one-sided flexibility’. The Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) view remains that our recommendations on one-sided flexibility would provide more security here without harming the labour market. These recommendations were for all workers to have a right to switch to a contract that reflects their regular working pattern, to reasonable notice of work schedules, and to compensation if a shift is cancelled or curtailed at short notice.

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader and shadow levelling up secretary, said:

This report from an independent Commission chaired by a Tory peer, makes clear that Labour’s plans to make work pay are a no-brainer.

Labour strongly welcomes today’s recommendations such as expanding the “national living wage” to all adults, as well as the Low Pay Commission’s reassertion of the need to tackle one-sided flexibility at work.

After 14 years of Conservative chaos, work is far too often insecure and low-paid, leaving working people living in poverty and robbing businesses of stronger productivity and economic growth.

Updated at 4.17pm GMT