Charles, you say
"Well i for one would be happy to see the minimum wage abolished.That would encourage big companies such as M&S and Topshop using countries like China and Indonesia to manufacture goods which could be made here.A huge number of previously unemployed people could be back in a job before they know it."
As you know multinationals will hunt down the lowest costs around the world. Currently that includes countries like India and Bangladesh where Primark source a lot of their stuff. The average wage in India is about ?10 per day.
The Lancashire cotton industry closed down in the 1960's, decades before the minimum wage was introduced, simply because they could not cope with cheap imports. So the last 20-30 years the vast majority of mass market clothes are imported from Asia.
If British firms couldnt compete in the 1960's decades before the minimum wage was introduced, they are not going to be able to compete in the mass market now on price, are they?
Cheers
D