Labor leader proposes new middle class agenda

The head of Britain's opposition Labor Party said he would raise the minimum wage among several changes to address the UK's "cost of living crisis." Party leader Ed Miliband said working- and middle-class Britons are being squeezed under the Conservative government's austerity plan, and promised to repeal several unpopular laws including the so-called bedroom tax that charges more in taxes to homeowners who rent spare bedrooms, the BBC said. He pledged to extend primary school days to 12 hours for working parents who have to pay for childcare after school is let out for the day. He pledged to repeal cost-saving changes the Tory government has made to the nation's healthcare system that have proven unpopular. The policy prescriptions were announced at the Labor Party's annual conference being held in Brighton, the BBC said. "Abolishing the bedroom tax. Strengthening the national minimum wage. Childcare there for parents who need it. That's what I mean by tackling the cost of living crisis at this conference," Miliband said. "That's what I mean by a government that fights for you." The UK's minimum wage is scheduled to rise next month from 6.19 pounds ($9.91) per hour to 6.31 pounds ($10.10). Miliband said if it were tied to increases in the cost of living it would already be 6.64 pounds an hour ($10.64).