THE manifestos are being published and with them the promises carefully designed to win your vote.

One issue which catches my attention is low pay, whether it is election time or not, so I have been keeping an eye on the pledges.

All parties agree they want to increase the National Minimum Wage, but over a number of years. At the same time they would want others' wages to also grow so no real change in terms of the pay gap.

Then there is the increase in the income tax threshold badged as taking more people out of tax.

The LibDems have claimed this as one of their successes in coalition with the Tories who have pledged to increase the threshold further to £12,500.

That's £250 a week or £6.86 an hour for a 35 hour week.

This is a tax cut for everyone earning above that and for people earning the minimum wage of £6.50 means a lot less than someone earning more than double who earn enough to pay tax and benefit from the tax cut.

Why not ensure workers are paid a level where they could pay tax. Unlike some corporations and certain wealthy celebrated individuals most workers want to pay their fair share and contribute to the services we all use.

It is a patronising policy to say 'you don't earn enough so you can be let off with paying your tax. While at the same time the same policy is benefitting people who earn far more by cutting their tax bill.

In the Conservative manifesto David Cameron writes "cutting the taxes of the lowest paid and helping them stand on their own two feet is the most effective poverty-tackling measure there is".

The same measure he said helped 260,000 low paid workers in Scotland but also 2.3m others on higher earnings.

At the higher end the Conservative government has already cut tax for those earning above £150,000 by cutting the top rate from 50p to 45p.

In the middle it wants to raise the 40p threshold to 50,000 a tax cut for 800,000 people.

The proposed further lower rate threshold increase will benefit 30m across the UK, it is first and foremost a tax cut.

A tax cut for the majority dressed up as helping the poor and it has to be funded by cuts to public services which people on lower incomes depend on more. Double whammy indeed.

So what's the solution? Why not increase the National Minimum Wage to a level where people can enjoy a decent standard of living and pay some tax.

The National Minimum Wage for a full time worker should be above the income tax threshold.

That way the tax revenue increases, less is spend on in work benefits so the welfare budget is reduced without having to resort to punitive sanctions and working people get a fair days pay for a fair days work.