Labour

Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour’s Co-National Campaign Coordinator, commenting on remarks made by Anne Marie Morris, said:

“Anne Marie Morris’ comments are outrageous and totally unacceptable. While the Conservative Party has tabled a debate on Wednesday to apparently discuss and condemn abuse of candidates in the General Election, these comments prove their hypocrisy. 

“Theresa May once spoke about changing the Tories’ ‘Nasty Party’ tag. If she’s serious about that, she will admit it’s not enough for the Tories to ‘investigate’ and will apologise and act immediately. If that means withdrawing the whip, that’s what they should do.”

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Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on UK Music’s Wish You Were Here 2017 report, said:

“We should all celebrate the huge contribution music makes to our economy. But we mustn’t take it for granted. Without the right Brexit deal it could be harder for overseas visitors to come and experience live music here in the UK, and harder for artists to tour.

“Our music industry wouldn’t be what it is today without the contribution of smaller music venues – the ones that are struggling the most, but are crucial for nurturing up-and-coming talent. We need to make sure they’re protected. Labour’s cultural capital fund would invest in upgrading existing music venues and creating new ones, to make sure that our live music industry remains a success story.”

Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the High Court’s ruling that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal, said:

“This is a frustrating setback, but that is all it is. It will not for one second stop us fighting for justice on behalf of the thousands of civilians killed by Saudi air-strikes, and working for peace on behalf of the millions of ordinary Yemenis currently living in fear of violence, famine and cholera.

“In particular, we must first redouble our efforts to force the UK Government to support an independent, UN-led investigation into alleged violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi coalition, one the Government will not be able to circumvent through the presentation of secret evidence in closed sessions of court.

“And second, we must continue to demand that the Government brings forward the peace plan that the UN has been waiting for Britain to present for the last nine months, and does not treat today’s judgement as a green light to continue pushing for a military solution which can only bring more death, misery and hardship to the people of Yemen.”

Rebecca Long Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on today’s findings that the Government’s industrial strategy targets only 10 percent of manufacturing and 1 per cent of the whole economy and widens regional divides, said,

‘’The Government’s industrial strategy is simply not ambitious enough, focussing on an extremely narrow section of the UK, both economically and geographically, and contains no commitment to the levels of investment necessary to transform the economy.

“Labour’s industrial strategy has real teeth, backed up by our £250 billion National Transformation Fund, the National Investment Bank and a network of Regional Development Banks. It will be wide-reaching, centred around three pillars: national missions to address the societal issues of our time, cross-cutting policies to create a fertile ground for business activity and collaboration at a sector level for both established and potential industries.

“Only Labour has a modern, ambitious and achievable industrial strategy to rebuild and transform the economy in every region of the UK for the many not the few.’’

Commenting on new figures released by the Ministry of Justice showing 225 kg of drugs were recovered across the prison estate in England and Wales in 2016, Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said:

“It’s clear that we have a crisis in our prisons system, with drugs use and violence continuing to be all too common.

“The Chief Inspector of Prisons recently said that our prisons are dangerous for prisoners and staff alike and are failing in their duty to rehabilitate and reform prisoners.

“These new drugs figures are yet another example of how drastic Tory cuts to prison budgets and staff numbers are driving this prisons crisis.

“Labour would begin to solve this by recruiting 3,000 new prisons officers and improving staff retention by improving terms and conditions for prison officers”

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