Labour

Cat Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on reports in the Times that the Tories are to drop plans to reduce the number of seats in the Commons, said:  

“Despite insisting that nothing has changed, it appears Theresa May has been forced to drop yet another manifesto commitment because she is too weak to command the support of her backbenchers.

“This proposal was always designed for the Tories’ own political advantage rather than what is in the best interests of the country.

“Labour stands ready to work with other parties to ensure that a boundary review can go ahead in a way that benefits our democracy, not just the Conservative Party.”

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, commenting on the issue of back pay for sleep-in shifts by care staff, said:

“There has still been no resolution on the issue of care workers receiving back pay for sleep-in shifts.

“The Tory Government’s lack of action is causing great uncertainty for our social care workforce. Tory Ministers need to ensure that care workers receive the money they have rightfully earned. Anything less would undermine the very principle of a statutory minimum wage and could encourage providers to plead poverty to get out of their duty to pay their care workforce properly.

“Good pay and conditions are essential to delivering good quality care for service users. This Tory Government needs to stop burying its head in the sand about the problems they have caused in social care and put the funding of social care on a long-term sustainable footing.“

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, said:

“I welcome the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy and the commitment to the long-term future for our shipbuilding industry. But as well as investing in our naval fleet, we must also invest in the men and women who serve in our Royal Navy.

“Despite warnings over many years, our Navy is facing a crisis in recruitment and retention. The Government is on course to miss its own target for the size of the Navy and we simply do not have enough sailors to crew our naval fleet.

“Experienced personnel are leaving the Navy because of dissatisfaction with pay and conditions. If the Government was serious about properly resourcing our Royal Navy it would lift the public sector pay cap and pay our servicemen and women properly.”

Tracy Brabin MP, Labour’s Shadow Early Years Minister, commenting on the NAHT report on school readiness, said:

“This report should make sobering reading for Tory ministers. It is yet more evidence of a problem that has worsened on their watch. It is now incumbent on the government to ensure their spending on childcare goes towards high quality early years education, supporting children to get the best start in life.

“By contrast, the Tories’ chronically underfunded 30-free hour childcare offer has not only left too many parents not receiving the free care they were promised but has seen many of the most experienced and highest-rated providers walk away from the sector entirely. Ministers should take their concerns seriously before the childcare sector reaches a crisis point.

“A Labour government would provide genuinely free and high-quality childcare, with all parents of 2-4 year olds entitled to 30 hours, and the investment needed to deliver it in practice. We would also reverse the Tory cuts to Sure Start, which the evidence showed was a highly effective programme in supporting children to be school ready.”

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the Interim Report of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice, said:

“The Commission’s findings drive home the deep problems of the British economy, which have been gravely worsened by seven years of Tory failure that has seen average wages fall and debt rise.

“The Tories have given huge tax breaks to the super-rich and giant corporations, but failed to deliver the investment in infrastructure, skills and research and development that are needed to create the secure, high-wage jobs of the future. As the report shows, the result is an economy dominated by insecurity and falling living standards.

“The Commission’s interim report is yet more evidence in support of Labour’s transformational economic programme, with high investment across the whole country supporting an industrial strategy and a wider spread of asset ownership to build an economy that works for the many, not the few. I welcome the Commission’s work and I look forward to seeing the final report.”