TWENTY years ago at least, it was not uncommon to hear people talk about working in fairly mundane jobs earning a fiver an hour.

Fast forward to the present day, and listen to George Osborne spouting his well-worn mantra about hard-working people and what a big deal it would be to reward them with a minimum wage of £7 per hour.

I doubt that he and his fellow hypocrites in the coalition would get out of bed for such a pittance, never mind work hard for it.

He also needs to punish by law employers who fail to implement the rate. Only nine prosecutions in 15 years shames a government of any colour.

Dave Barker, Fern Close, Huntington, York.