I was shocked to read that East Yorkshire MP Greg Knight is supporting a debate to scrap the minimum wage.

I stood against Mr Knight in East Yorkshire, in 2001, coming second at the election for Labour. Many of those who worked in the rural economy told me that they were voting Conservative because they felt the party protected the countryside. It seems what the Conservative Party protects is the landowners, not the workers, with comments such as Mr Knight’s.

Mr Knight has been in business and politics for many years, including the Thatcher government, and I suspect he has never earned even near the minimum wage, never mind less than it.

The minimum wage is a living wage; anything below it is not a living wage, so why would anyone want to opt out of it?

Mr Knight should remember he represents a constituency from Stamford Bridge to Bridlington, that relies heavily on rural and tourist employment. To even consider that his constituents can work for less than the minimum wage is, in my view, a disgrace.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Salisbury Road, York.