Speaking at Retail Week's annual conference in London today, economic secretary to the Treasury Ivan Lewis tackled questions from the floor on the minimum wage, rising energy costs and adopting a more protectionist stance on imports.
He dismissed the 'doom and gloom' over the present minimum wage as 'a load of nonsense', adding that the current level of£5.35 is correct. 'My argument is that it is absolutely the right thing to do and the level it is at is right. I am not going to apologise for it.'
The Government was also right to stick to its free market principles and not adopt a more protectionist stance on shoe imports from the Far East, said Lewis, citing the way that the French government sometimes behaves. 'That is an example of politicians interfering. They are pandering to popular opinion on a short-term basis. I think that most people in this audience recognise that,' he explained.
Asked how the Government could help retailers deal with soaring energy costs, he said: 'I realise this is an issue. The Government could try to work with the industry.' However, he added: 'I would not call it [rising energy costs] a crisis'.
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