The volunteers of the Anglican association “ Church Action on poverty“, whose members include the Anglican bishop of Wolverhampton, Michael Bourke, plan to demonstrate during Lent this year that it is actually impossible to live in Great Britain on the minimum wage (approximately 7 euros per hour) fixed by the Labour government of Tony Blair. The volunteers will seek to maintain themselves, or rather survive, on a sum on money equivalent to the minimum wage to show how difficult it is, on this kind of pay, to keep oneself above the poverty threshold in Great Britain. The association is in fact convinced that the minimum wage of 4 pounds and ten pence per hour, roughly 7 euros, maintains British critzens just above the poverty line. Once the costs of rent and tax have been deducted, the volunteers will have 35 pounds per week at their disposal, just over 50 euros, with which to live. The experiment is being followed with particular interest by the British media.
