From East London to a national movement: 25 years of the Living Wage

23 June 2026

The Living Wage campaign began in 2001, emerging from community organising led by East London Citizens (TELCO), where local groups came together to address the issue of low pay affecting their communities. What started as a grassroots response to in-work poverty has since grown into a national movement, with thousands of employers now committed to paying wages based on the real cost of living. 

As community organiser Bernadette Harris reflects, this process was central to how the campaign developed: “What’s important to remember is that this all came out of listening… people were telling us about the real pressures they were facing in their day-to-day lives. From that, we began to identify where to act.” 

At the time, the idea of a Living Wage, rather than simply a minimum wage (which had only recently been introduced in 1999), was far from mainstream. Professor Jane Wills (formerly in the School of Geography), recalls how ambitious the campaign felt in its early days: “It’s hard to overstate how audacious the campaign was at that time… a relatively small community organisation was proposing something beyond [the minimum wage].” 

Working alongside East London Citizens, researchers at Queen Mary helped document the extent of low pay across the capital. This work provided a robust evidence base that strengthened the campaign’s ability to influence employers and policymakers. Jane recalls: “There was a really strong synergy between what the campaign needed and what we could offer as a university. We didn’t just send out surveys – we trained community researchers to go out, speak to workers face-to-face, and collect data. We mapped low-wage work across East London, looking not only at pay but at things like sick pay and job conditions. That allowed us to identify a clear two-tier workforce emerging through outsourcing. And crucially, it gave the campaign evidence to act on.” 

The collaboration between community organising and formal, academic research proved powerful. By combining lived experience with rigorous analysis, the campaign was able to demonstrate both the human impact of low pay and the systemic changes needed to address it. 

Bernadette noted the importance of this collaboration, saying: “In Citizens, we place huge value on listening… But listening on its own isn’t enough – it doesn’t always capture everything you need to know. That’s where formal research becomes so important. Bringing those two approaches together makes the work much stronger.” And Paul noting: “The contribution of the university was critical because it added academic rigour to what we were doing... Having that discipline meant that our findings stood up to scrutiny. When we presented them, people couldn’t just dismiss them – we had evidence. That credibility made a huge difference to the campaign.” 

At its heart this was a reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship, with Jane explaining the strong benefits for the researchers at Queen Mary: “The relationship with Citizens gave our students the opportunity to do meaningful research… Working with community organisations meant the research mattered.” And “Working with communities keeps research grounded… The relationship has to be reciprocal – universities bring something, but they also learn something. That’s what makes the collaboration powerful.” 

The campaign also responded to stark inequalities visible across East London. In areas such as Canary Wharf, wealth and low-paid labour existed side by side, with many workers employed in outsourced roles with lower wages and fewer protections. As Jane Wills explains, this highlighted “extreme inequality side by side”, prompting the campaign to challenge the disconnect between economic development and local benefit. 

Queen Mary’s contribution extended beyond research. In 2006, it became the first university in the UK to be accredited as a Living Wage employer, demonstrating its commitment to fair pay in practice. After a series of consultations with staff, Queen Mary also brought its previously outsourced cleaning services back in-house - a move that has provided cleaners with greater job security and more stable working conditions. This leadership helped set a precedent for the higher education sector and reinforced the University’s civic mission within East London. 

Over time, the Living Wage campaign has grown from a local initiative into a nationally recognised movement, with thousands of employers choosing to pay wages based on the real cost of living. Its success reflects not only the strength of its original idea, but also the partnerships and relationships that have sustained it. 

For those involved, these relationships remain at the heart of the work. As Paul stated: “The strength comes from building relationships between those institutions so they can act together for the common good.” 

The ongoing partnership between Queen Mary and Citizens UK also highlights a broader model of civic engagement. By working closely with communities, universities can connect research, teaching and real-world change - ensuring that academic knowledge is both informed by and contributes to lived experience. 

As Bernadette reflected: “The best learning happens when you step outside the university and into the ‘university of the streets’. That’s where you see what really matters to people. You hear who they trust, what influences their decisions, what affects their lives. Those insights can completely change how you approach a problem. And they only come through real engagement.” 

Twenty-five years on, the Living Wage campaign stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved when communities, institutions and researchers work together. For Queen Mary, it is both a moment to reflect on a shared history and a reminder of the ongoing role universities can play in creating a fairer society. 

With many thanks to Jane, Bernadette and Paul, for sharing their reflections with us.

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 Jane Wills 

Jane Wills was Professor of Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London from 1998 to 2017 before she moved to the University of Exeter (Cornwall campus). When at QMUL, her research focused on labour and community organising. She played a key role in supporting the early Living Wage campaign by leading a series of research projects that provided the evidence base for the movement. 

Bernadette Harris 

Bernadette Harris is a long-standing leader within Citizens UK and a former NHS manager and trade union representative. Her work spans community organising, public sector leadership, and advocacy, with a particular focus on linking lived experience to policy and institutional change. 

Paul Regan 

Paul Regan is a retired Methodist Minister based in the London Borough of Newham where he has lived since 1972. He chairs the E16 Community Land Trust in Custom House. He is vice-chair of Church Action for Tax Justice (part of The Just Money movement). He is a former chair of Citizens UK and was a member of the Living Wage Foundation.