Gordon Brown is drawing up plans to vary the minimum wage region by region across Britain.

The Prime Minister is understood to have been persuaded by academic studies which have found that having a single minimum, currently £5.35 an hour, right across the country, is uneconomic.

In the future, the minimum wage, one of New Labour's flagship economic policies, is likely to be increased for employees in London and the southeast, where living costs - particularly housing - are higher. However, any move for simultaneous cuts in the level of the wage in other parts of the country would be strongly opposed by unions.............

Gordon Brown to vary minimum wage over UK - Telegraph

This seems like political suicide especially in the north where traditional labour strongholds lie.