Labour vow to bolster minimum wage   Lucrative industries could
be forced to pay staff more under plans to "strengthen" the
minimum wage, set out by Labour as part of a policy package to
ease a cost of living "crisis".  Ed Miliband promised action to
help struggling families as he arrived in Brighton for his
party's annual conference - including guaranteed 8am-6pm
childcare for primary pupils. The Opposition is also pledging to
reverse the Government's controversial cut in housing benefit -
dubbed the "bedroom tax" by critics.  Mr Miliband - who has
faced criticism from senior party figures for failing to take
the fight to the Tories over the summer - took to the streets to
deliver his message. He is seeking to seize the initiative as a
drip-feed of claims from Gordon Brown's former spin doctor,
Damian McBride, threatened to cast a shadow over the conference.
"Abolishing the bedroom tax. Strengthening the national minimum
wage. Childcare there for parents who need it," he told voters
in the centre of Brighto