Claims that workers in Rother face biggest wage drop in South East

Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Rye, Sarah Owen said: “The figures from the Office of National Statistics show that whilst increased numbers of people in work are welcome, what people are earning and their real term wages in Hastings and Rother are now worth £3,400 less than they did in 2010.

“These figures show that current politicians in the area are failing to deal with the cost of living crisis, particularly across Rother. The seemingly complacent and self-congratulatory attitude of MPs when it comes to the local economy and employment figures show they have no idea what it is like in the real world for people trying to balance their household budgets.

“We need to move away from the low wage economy that dominates Rother and start attracting businesses to the area, which pay staff a wage that they can live on and invest in a skilled local workforce – We already have a cluster of businesses within the renewables, creative and high tech sectors and I will continue to work with them to build a stronger, fairer local economy that is fit for purpose now and the future.”