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One in four Londoners in the outer boroughs earns less than the Living Wage, according to research revealed today. The independent analysis found low pay was more widespread in the suburbs than in the heart of London.

In the inner boroughs, about 14 per cent were paid less than the Living Wage, a sum calculated by campaigners as the minimum needed to fund a decent standard of living. This compared with 25.8 per cent of workers living in boroughs including Bromley, Brent and Barking.

The survey is based on a London Living Wage of £8.80 an hour, which was raised by four per cent recently to £9.15. The rate outside the capital rose 20p to £7.85.

Labour mayoral hopeful Dame Tessa Jowell, who commissioned the research from the House of Commons library, today called on businesses to raise pay levels to the Living Wage, saying they would get a “more productive” workforce in return.

“I want our city — politicians, businesses, communities — to come to an agreement: decent pay for all,” she said. “The London Living Wage is about core London values — decency, and fairness. Businesses that offer fair pay get more motivated, more productive staff. That’s good for everyone. A hard day’s work should mean a fair day’s pay. No ifs, no buts, no exceptions.”

Her plea came as Boris Johnson stepped up his campaign to persuade the Conservatives to adopt the campaign against low pay, saying: “We should ask our big corporations to pay their workers decently.”

The Mayor believes better living standards for working people on lower incomes should be a Tory issue.

He told the Sunday Times: “It’s about people who are struggling to put bread on the table for their families, [people] on low incomes who are working hard and who are ambitious. We should be trying to help those people in any way we can.”

The Trades Union Congress opened a fortnight of campaigning for “fair pay” by claiming slow growth in earnings had cost the Treasury £33.4 billion in lost income tax and national insurance.