The ‘living wage’, low pay and in work poverty: Exploring the difficult to resolve conceptual and pragmatic issues around the ‘living wage’

The ‘living wage’ is an idea with a long history in the UK that is currently enjoying a renaissance. It clearly has great appeal as a motivating rallying cry for campaigners. But it also raises both conceptual and pragmatic issues that have proved difficult to resolve, writes Fran Bennett. Recent analyses that unpack low pay and in work poverty suggest some ways forward.