KEN LIVINGSTONE SAYS THERE NEEDS TO BE REGULATION OF THE FLOW OF LABOUR IN AN OPEN BRITISH ECONOMY

“An open economy is one that is going to be much more dramatic. London is the only city in Europe that matches American levels of productivity and competiveness and because we are the most open, you’ve got to regulate that flow of labour, not necessarily by having more barriers but by saying you’ve got to have a proper living wage, you’ve got to make certain you are providing the housing otherwise people, like the far right, come along and say ‘those people are taking your jobs, your housing’.

“The real accusation since the last Labour government is that it didn’t build local housing, it didn’t make certain - as Germany has done - to preserve good jobs for working class people. We allowed our manufacturing to be wiped out as it begun under Mrs Thatcher.”

FIRMER PROPOSALS

The former mayor of London said over the coming year Labour will come up with much firmer proposals for a living wage.

“I think what you’re seeing is Labour rethinking all its policies. I suspect in months, or a year or so ahead, Labour will come up with much firmer proposals for a living wage paying a good bit more than the minimum wage and for a proper council house building programme so you tackle these problems.

“I think the big critique of the last Labour government is it took working class voters for granted, it focused almost exclusively on the middle class, The Daily Mail reader. It just assumed working class people would always come out and vote for us but if you’re not providing them with jobs, not providing them with homes, why should they?”

HOMES FOR RENT

Mr Livingstone said Labour will go into the next election with very clear policies about building good quality homes for rent.

“Labour will go into that next election with very clear policies about building good quality homes for rent in a way we haven’t for 30 years and changing the structure of our economy so we move away from the dependence on finance and services and look at the success of Germany, unemployment there is under half of what it is here. They invested in their manufacturing, they got a better range of jobs.

“All those jobs when I left school, every boy from my school in Brixton got a job, and it paid enough to keep a family. We’ve got to get back to that sort of balanced economy not a lot of low-paid, semi-skilled jobs and then a small elite making hundreds of millions.”