Labour

Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on the announcement of details of the Data Protection Bill, said: 

“The Government opposed Labour’s attempts to strengthen data protection laws during the passage of the Digital Economy Act just months ago, so it is welcome news that they’ve finally understood that our current data protection legislation needs updating. 

“Labour’s manifesto committed to allowing young people to remove content shared on the internet before they turned 18, so we’re glad the Government is taking action on this.

“As we are leaving the EU it is more important than ever that we have a robust data protection framework fit for the future. We’ll be scrutinising the bill carefully to make sure it creates that future proof framework.”

Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on the energy price review said:

“Today’s review is yet another example of the Government’s procrastination when it comes to reforming the broken energy market. Homes and businesses face a bleak winter ahead with soaring and unfair energy costs. They need action, not another review.

“Ofgem’s recent watered down price cap proposals went nowhere near the promise made by the Prime Minister to adopt Labour’s principle of a price cap and last week’s energy price hikes clearly showed the Government would be nowhere near implementing their election promise anytime soon.

“Let’s remember Theresa May pledged unequivocally to knock £100 off the bills of 17 million customers.

“It does seem that reports of senior cabinet members and the big six energy companies lobbying the Prime Minster to drop the price cap commitment are correct.”

Labour analysis demonstrates £3bn blackhole in Tory spending plans revealing the damage this government’s weak and unstable leadership has done to the public finances.

The blackhole, which does not include unfunded commitments made in the un-costed Tory manifesto and could be set to rise,  is made up of: 

·  The Government being ordered by the Supreme Court last month to repay up to £32m in unlawful Employment tribunal fees introduced since 2013

·   Philip Hammonds u-turn on proposed increases in the rates of Class 4 National Insurance Contributions on low and middle income self-employed workers in response to Labour opposition following the Spring Budget 2017

·    The £1bn additional funding allocated to Northern Ireland as a result of the Conservative and DUP coalition agreement

In light of reports the Chancellor is planning further spending cuts or tax rises to meet the blackhole that his shambolic stewardship has created, Labour have today called upon Philip Hammond to rule out further tax rises on low and middle income earners over the course of the next Parliament. 

Peter Dowd, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the treasury, writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer today said,

“Philip Hammond has created a £3bn black hole in the nations finances as a result of his and this Government’s incompetence. Labour are calling for a guarantee that taxes will not be raised on low and middle income earners to pay for this Government’s shambolic leadership.”

Text of the letter:

Dear Chancellor,

I have read with some concern news reports that you are looking at ways to increase taxation to cover the £1bn costs of your deal for Democratic Unionist Party votes.

In addition to the £2bn costs of your reversal of planned rises in Class 4 National Insurance Contributions, and the £32m costs of the your government’s Employment Tribunal fee cuts being declared illegal, a black hole of more than £3bn has been created in the public finances.

A new Budget is not due until Autumn, leaving taxpayers with significant uncertainty over your plans to close the enormous gap in the government’s finances.

With household budgets already squeezed by falling real-terms pay, and worsening forecasts for the economy as a whole, I believe it is essential that you now provide some reassurance ahead of your Budget that ordinary families will not bear the brunt of your government’s successive failures.

For the course of this Parliament:

·         Can you now rule out rises in Value Added Tax?

·         Can you now rule out rises in self-employed and employee National Insurance Contributions?

·         Can you now rule out rises in the basic rate of Income Tax?

I look forward to your reply.

Peter Dowd

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Tom Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on reports that the Chancellor has scrapped the Fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) review, said: 

“This is an astonishing intervention by Philip Hammond.

“If the Treasury has insisted the review is shelved then the Chancellor has ridden roughshod over his Cabinet colleagues and overwhelming public evidence about the danger these highly addictive machines pose.

“British gamblers lost £1.8 billion on fixed-odds betting terminals last year alone, money that could make a better contribution to the economy if spent elsewhere. 

“If Philip Hammond was so concerned about his bottom line, maybe he shouldn’t have approved a £1 billion sweetheart deal with the DUP. 

“The Department for Culture, Media and Sport should stand up to the Treasury and publicly assure us the review has not been shelved.” 

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Mental Health Minister, commenting on NHS England’s announcement that an appropriate place has been found for Young Person X, said:

“It is a relief to know that a safe and appropriate place looks to have been found for Young Person X.

“This case must act as a wake-up call for the Government, who must now invest properly in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services so that we never find ourselves in this position again.”