Angela Rayner,
Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary,
commenting on the IFS analysis on education spending on
16-18 year-olds in England, said:

“This is proof that this election is a clear choice between a Tory Party that
would cut education and a Labour Party that would invest in our future.

“For all Theresa May’s talk of a bright future, she has turned her back on the
generation who we will rely on to ensure it.  

“Our young people cannot afford another five years of education cuts, leading
to further decline. Only Labour is offering a properly funded education system
fit for the many, not the few.”

The next Labour Government will put rail passengers first by putting the brakes on rapidly increasing rail fares and saving commuters £1,014 on their season tickets

Under a Labour Government, passengers will on average save £1,014 on their rail season tickets over the next parliament, compared to the potential cost under a Tory Government.

Since 2010, regulated rail fares have risen by 27.1 per cent, increasing the average cost of a season ticket by £594.

The 2015 Conservative manifesto included a commitment to keeping rail fares frozen in real terms. However, regulated fares were capped at the Retail Price Index (RPI), which consistently over-estimates inflation, rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Labour will cap regulated fair rises at the Consumer Price Index (CPI), using the money saved through bringing rail franchises back into public ownership. As more services come into public ownership, greater amounts of savings become available, and Labour will aim to introduce further fare caps or reductions.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Under the Conservatives, rail fares have sky-rocketed and tickets are some of the most expensive in Europe.

“Labour will take Britain’s railways back into public control and put more money into people’s pockets by capping fares. This will save commuters £1,014 on their rail season tickets over the next Parliament, as part of our plan to promote services for the many, not the few.”

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said:

“Theresa May’s failure to commit to freezing rail fares shows just how out of touch they are.

“Under the Conservatives, fares have risen three times faster than wages, passenger satisfaction is plummeting, punctuality has fallen to a 10 year low and promised upgrades have either been delayed by years or scrapped altogether.

“Privatised rail has failed and it will take more than tinkering around the edges to deliver much needed improvements for passengers. Labour will take the railways back into public ownership and put passengers first by capping fares.”

The 2017 Tory manifesto has failed to make any commitment to keeping rail fares frozen in real terms, meaning rail fares are likely to rise above inflation (RPI) if the Conservatives win the General Election.

Between 2011 – 2013 the Tories allowed fares to rise by RPI plus 1 per cent. If fares continue to increase by the same rate, the average cost of a season ticket will rise by an extra £160 by the end of the next parliament, compared to being frozen at RPI.

Announcing that he will attend the televised debate in Cambridge,
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:  

“I will be taking part in tonight’s debate because I believe
we must give people the chance to hear and engage with the leaders of the main
parties before they vote.

“I have never been afraid of a debate in my life. Labour’s
campaign has been about taking our polices to people across the country and
listening to the concerns of voters.

“The Tories have been conducting a stage-managed arms-length
campaign and have treated the public with contempt. Refusing to join me in
Cambridge tonight would be another sign
of Theresa May’s weakness, not strength.”

At a media
launch in London today, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, Jonathan
Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary and Angela Rayner, Shadow Education
Secretary, turned the spotlight on public services, arguing that this election
is vital for the future of the NHS and our schools.

Labour has
published research highlighting the threat to our schools and hospitals posed
by five more years of the Conservatives and have committed the party to
reversing years of Tory neglect.

New
analysis of the Tory threat has revealed that if the current rate of
deterioration under the Tories continues, by 2022 our health and education
services could be facing huge problems. It could mean:

In a Tory
NHS and social care system:

• 5.5 million people on waiting
  lists in England, 1.8 million more than at present.
•  Almost 1.5 million older and
  vulnerable people with unmet social care needs.

In a Tory
education system:

• 650,000 pupils crammed into
  primary classes of over 30.
• Families left almost £450 worse
  off per child as a result of the Tories’ plan to scrap free school meals for
  1.7 million children.

The choice
at the election is stark. The Tories have no plan to properly fund our public
services, pushing them further into crisis. Labour will take a different.
approach, we will rebuild our public services for the many by modest tax rises
for companies and the richest 5 per cent.

Labour will
build an NHS and social care system for the many:

• Labour will invest £37 billion
  in our NHS and take one million people off the waiting list by the end of the
  next Parliament.
• Labour will invest £8 billion
  in social care over the course of the next Parliament and lay the foundations
  of a National Care Service to integrate health and social care.

Labour will
build an education system for the many:

• Labour will cap class sizes at
  30 for 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds.
• Labour will provide free school
  meals to all primary school children by removing VAT exemption on private
  school fees.

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“The
futures of our NHS and schools are at stake in this election.

“Over the
last seven years the Tories have starved the public services we rely on of
resources, running them down and pushing them into disrepair.

“Patients
are suffering ever longer waits and overcrowded wards; those who need care have
been left without it. Children are crammed into overcrowded and crumbling
classrooms. It has to change.

“Labour
will invest in our people, schools and hospitals. We will cut class sizes, take
a million people off the NHS waiting list and ensure people get the care they
deserve.

“By
contrast another five years of the Tories would be disastrous for our public
services. At the rate we’re going we could see 5.5 million people on the
English waiting list and 1.5 million older people with unmet care needs. And
young people and their families face the prospect of more overcrowding in
schools and having to pick up the bill for the Tories’ unfair plan to scrap
free school meals for hundreds of thousands of children.

“On June 8^th there’s only one party that will improve
our public services for the many not the few, that’s the Labour Party.”

Notes to editors:

• Please find link to Labour’s full analysis on threat to our schools and hospitals posed by five more years of the Conservatives: http://www.labour.org.uk/atrisk 

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will say today that ‘Labour is the
party of equality.’ The Labour Party is launching its Race and Faith manifesto
at an event in Watford, outlining its commitment to racial equality and
detailing how the Party’s manifesto benefits BAME communities.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Labour is the Party of equality. We were built on the values of
social justice, internationalism and human rights. Our values are rooted in the
fundamental truth that whatever your background, wherever you are from, you
should have the means and opportunity to fulfil your potential.

“People continue to be treated unfairly due to their ethnicity or
faith. The recent rise in hate crimes, including Anti-Semitic
and Islamophobic attacks, underscores how far we still have to go. Labour
will repair the damage done by the Conservative Government, which has sown
the seeds of division in our communities.

“Only Labour can be trusted to unlock the talent of Black, Asian
and Minority Ethnic people, who have been held back by the Conservatives. We
will guarantee equality is at the heart of our programme for government.

“Labour will implement a comprehensive strategy for racial
equality, one that effectively challenges the disadvantage many Black, Asian
and Minority Ethnic communities suffer. We will work every day for a fairer
society, where every person is enabled to get on in life, regardless of race,
faith or ethnicity, to build a Britain that works for the many, not the few.”