Labour today announces a plan to make Britain’s
communities safer, by putting thousands more frontline staff into critical
public services, including police, fire, prison, intelligence and border
agencies.

 In the wake of large-scale Tory cuts to police and
security resulting in 37,000 fewer staff, Labour will recruit:

 ·       10,000 more police officers

·       3,000 more firefighters

·       3,000 more prison officers

·       1,000 more security and intelligence agency staff

·       500 more border guards

Labour’s plans to reverse staff cuts in these agencies
will return staffing levels closer to those when Labour left office.

 Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

 “Ensuring the safety of our communities demands
properly resourced action across many fronts. It means upholding and enforcing
our individual rights, promoting community relations, supporting our emergency
services, tackling and preventing crime and protecting us from danger,
including threats of terror and violence.

 “Only a Labour government will meet these challenges.
As we set out in our manifesto earlier this month, Labour will recruit
additional police officers, additional firefighters, additional prison officers
and additional border guards.

 “We will also legislate to ensure safe staffing levels
in the NHS, including for our ambulance services. Today, I am announcing that Labobur
will also increase staffing levels at the security and intelligence agencies –
GCHQ, SIS and MI5 – in order to better ensure our collective safety.

 “As well as full funding for our frontline and first
response services, Labour will properly resource the partner agencies in other
frontline public services, including schools and colleges, and local
authorities. These agencies are charged with a duty to identify those
individuals vulnerable to violent extremism but under the current government
they have been held back and barely been able to provide their own core
services. Only Labour is serious about properly resourcing our security and
frontline services.”

 Labour’s pledge to increase the resources of state
security and emergency services is matched by a renewed commitment to uphold
the individual rights and civil liberties of the people in communities served.

 Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary said:

“One of the great myths of British politics is that
the Tories are the party of law and order. The reality is very different.
Serious crime is up since the Tories came to office in 2010, and they have cut
police numbers by over 20,000 in that time. Theresa May broke her pledge to
protect the police budgets.  

“Labour will protect our communities. We will focus on
rebuilding community policing, and the ties between communities and the forces
that serve them for good reason. It works. Unlike many other countries where
the police have long been a quasi-military force standing outside the
community, we have a history of policing by consent. We need to rebuild the
trust between communities and the police which has been eroded by a combination
of police cuts and rising crime.

”Part of rebuilding trust will a review of the Prevent
strategy and the Channel programme. Nobody disputes the need to engage
communities in the fight against violent extremism but we must be mindful of
the warning issued by David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism
legislation, who said: “There is a strong feeling in Muslim communities that I
visit that Prevent is, if not a spying programme, then is at least a programme
that is targeted on them.”

Richard Burgon, Shadow Justice Secretary, said

“Labour will uphold the rights which make our
communities safer, including a pledge to maintain the Human Rights Act and to
strengthen judicial oversight over the powers of intelligence services. We will
back up our legal protections with adequate resourcing across our security and
justice systems.

“In stark contrast, the Tories have cut the staffing
levels at the security and intelligence services, they have cut fire and rescue
budgets by more than 30%, they have taken 20,000 police officers and 6,000 Police
and Community Supports Officers out of service, they have dangerously reduced
the number of staff in our increasingly overcrowded prisons and they have
weakened our Border Force.”

Editor’s Notes:

 SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES

 1.      Staffing levels at GCHQ, SIS and MI5 were cut by 5% in 2010 and despite
planned increases have not yet returned to the levels inherited from the last
Labour government.

 2.      The Conservatives have cut more than 37,000 roles to public service
agencies since 2010:

·       20,000 fewer police officers

·       10,000 fewer firefighters

·       6,000 fewer prison officers

·       31 fewer staff in the security and intelligence agencies

·       1,000 fewer border guards

 POLICE AND CRIME

 3.      Since 2010, police officer numbers have been reduced by 20,000 and
police community support officer numbers have been reduced by 6,000.

4.      Police budgets have been cut by £2.3bn and the government has already
broken its promise to protect police funding over this last Parliament. cutting
budgets by £330 million in real terms in the last two years alone.

5.      Latest figures show rises in some of the most serious criminal offences,
including homicide, gun and knife crime.

 FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES

 6.      Since 2010, firefighter numbers have been reduced by 10,000.

7.      Since 2010, more than 40 fire stations have been closed and more than
130 fire engines lost, including 10 stations and 13 engines in London alone.

8.      Fire and rescue service budgets were cut by 30% from 2010-2015, with a
further 20% cut planned from 2015-2020.

9.      The average response time to the most critical incidents has increased
by more than 30 seconds since 2010.

 AMBULANCE SERVICES

 10.  The 8 minute
target for Red Call 1 ambulance response times have not been since May 2015:
Red Call 1 is the category of calls representing the most critical
life-threatening emergencies. 

 BORDER FORCE

 11.  Since 2010 more
than 1,000 border guard jobs were lost

12.  Since 2011 Border
Force budgets were cut by 12%

13.  Since 2011 there
has been an 11% increase in the people entering the UK

14.  Since 2011 there
has been a cut of more than 25% to the amount on money spent for every person
who crosses passport control into Britain, from £5.80 spent in 2011 to £4.43
spent in 2015

15.  The cuts to
Border Force have contributed to low staff morale at UK Border Force, with one
in three staff planning to leave within 12 months

 PRISONS

16.  Prison officer
numbers have reduced by more than 6,000 since 2010

17.  There were 5,423
assaults on prison staff in the year to March 2017 – a rise of 40% on the previous
year

18.  68 per cent of
all prisons are overcrowded, holding more inmates than their usable ‘certified
normal accommodation’ (CNA), with some holding more than 50 per cent over the
recommended levels

19.  Self-inflicted
prisoner deaths rose by 28% in the year to June 2016.

20.  65 prisoners were
released in error in 2015-16 – the highest total for six years. 

DEVOLVED ADMINISTRATIONS

21.
Devolved administrations would receive consequential financial settlements for
those services which are devolved.

22.
The Welsh Government would determine policies and priorities for devolved
services as well as those services to be devolved following the election of a
UK Labour Government.

23.
This is as outlined in Welsh Labour’s 2017 manifesto, “Standing Up For Wales”
and the UK Labour manifesto.

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will visit Hackney Marshes football pitches
today to highlight Labour’s manifesto commitment to ensure 5 per cent of the
Premier League’s domestic and international television rights’ income is
diverted to the grassroots game.

The
pledge will help the next generation of players and coaches by drastically
improving facilities and pitches.

Labour
has also committed today to working with train operating companies,
broadcasters and clubs to develop a new ‘Flexible Football Ticket’ so that fans
experience minimal disruption when games are switched. This will stop fans
being left with worthless train tickets and having to fork out again for new tickets
when games are re-arranged at short notice.

The
visit is taking place on the same day as the FA Cup Final.

The
party’s manifesto also commits Labour to:

•          
Put fans at the heart of their clubs – by legislating for accredited supporters
trusts to be able to appoint and remove at least two club directors and to
purchase shares when clubs change hands. We will also review fan participation
in sports governance more widely.

•          
Fix the broken ticketing market – by enforcing anti-bot legislation and
implementing the recommendations of the Waterson review to ensure fair
opportunities for fans to buy tickets.

•          
Improve access provision for disabled sports fans – by ensuring that rapid
improvements are made and by prioritising action to make clubs comply with
obligations under the 2010 Equality Act.

•          
Ensure that investment and support is given to grassroots women’s football so
as many women and girls as possible can benefit from participating in football

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will say:

“The
FA Cup final marks the greatest day of the football season. Millions of
football fans across the country, including myself, are eagerly awaiting kick
off this evening at Wembley.

“Despite
the game we all love receiving lucrative domestic and international TV deals,
the grassroots game has been shamefully starved of funding over recent years.

“Too
often, youth football teams cannot find pitches to play on and when they do
they are expensive and the facilities are not fit for purpose. All-weather
pitches are like gold-dust and coaching badges can cost unaffordable amounts.
Under these circumstances, it is no surprise we are not nurturing the talent
that we all know exists within the beautiful game.

“To
address this lack of funding and lack of facilities, Labour in government will
ensure that 5 per cent of domestic and international TV rights money is
diverted to the grassroots game. This will ensure the footballing talent of
young girls and boys is harnessed, and football is a game for the many, not the
few.”

Dr
Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour’s Shadow Sports Minister, will say:

“Football
is our national game – it brings people together from all ages and all walks of
life. We have one of the most commercially successful leagues in the world, but
all too often pitches and grassroots community facilities are run down and in a
state of disrepair.

“Without
supporters, amateurs and young players, football would be barren. As broadcast
revenues and the popularity of our leagues increase, so should the support that
goes back into the grassroots game. We have to make sure we can develop future
British playing and coaching talent, in order to make sure our leagues stay
competitive for years to come.”

Angela
Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the Institute of Fiscal Studies
analysis of the main political parties’ proposals on school spending in
England, said:

“There
is now no doubt about what Tory plans mean for education – our schools will see
their budgets cut.

“And head
teachers have warned us what the consequences will be for parents and pupils:
fewer teachers, larger classes, a narrower curriculum, or even a shorter school
week.

“The IFS
analysis is clear: only Labour will give schools the resources they need to
deliver a world-class education for the many, not just the few.”

John McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, responding to the IFS manifesto
analysis, said:

“The IFS assessment of the
Conservatives is clear: their plans would damage our economy and public
services with five more years of damaging austerity. 

“They also confirm that the
Tories have not specified any additional funding for the NHS,
meaning a continued crisis in our health service if they are re-elected next
month. The Tories plans on schools will mean continuing to sell away our
future, with continued real terms cuts to per pupil spending.

“Today has confirmed that only a
Labour Government would give our NHS and schools the essential funding
they need, and that our increase in infrastructure investment would boost
GDP and tax receipts. The IFS confirms that Labour are on target to meet
our manifesto commitments in regards to our Fiscal Credibility Rule, to balance
the budget on day to day spending in the coming parliament
and have debt falling as a share of GDP as we have committed.

“We believe the IFS has
underestimated the revenue raising effectiveness of some of
the tax changes we would make, but we recognise the potential for
uncertainty which is why we have allowed headroom in our plans.

"The only numbers we saw in the
Tory manifesto were the page numbers. But what has become clear
today is the choice at this election – continued austerity and falling living
standards under the Tories, or higher wages and increased investment in
our public services and infrastructure under Labour.”

***CHECK
AGAINST DELIVERY***

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party,
speaking at a speech in central London today, said:

Our whole
nation has been united in shock and grief this week as a night out at a concert
ended in horrific terror and the brutal slaughter of innocent people enjoying
themselves.

When I
stood on Albert Square at the vigil in Manchester, there was a mood of
unwavering defiance.

The very act
of thousands of people coming together sent a powerful message of solidarity
and love. It was a profound human impulse to stand together, caring and strong.
It was inspiring.

In the past few days, we have all perhaps thought a bit more about
our country, our communities and our people.

The people we have lost to atrocious violence or who have suffered
grievous injury, so many of them heart-breakingly young .

The people who we ask to protect us and care for us in the
emergency services, who yet again did our country proud: the police; firefighters and
paramedics; the nurses and doctors; people who never
let us down and deserve all the support we can give them.

And the people who did their best to help on that
dreadful Monday night – the homeless men who rushed towards the
carnage to comfort the dying, the taxi drivers who took the stranded home for
free, the local
people who offered comfort, and even their homes, to the teenagers who couldn’t
find their parents.

They are the people of Manchester. But we know that attacks, such
as the one at the Manchester Arena, could have happened anywhere and that the
people in any city, town or village in Britain would have responded in the same
way.

It is these people who are the strength and the heart of our
society. They are the country we love and the country we seek to serve.

That is
the solidarity that defines our United Kingdom. That is the country I meet on
the streets every day; the human warmth, the basic decency and kindness.

It is our
compassion that defines the Britain I love. And it is compassion that the
bereaved families need most of all at this time. To them I say: the whole
country reaches out its arms to you and will be here for you not just this
week, but in the weeks and years to come.

Terrorists
and their atrocious acts of cruelty and depravity will never divide us and will
never prevail.

They
didn’t in Westminster two months ago. They didn’t when Jo Cox was murdered a year
ago. They didn’t in London on 7/7. The awe-inspiring response of the people of
Manchester, and their inspirational acts of heroism and kindness, are a living
demonstration that they will fail again.

But these
vicious and contemptible acts do cause profound pain and suffering, and, among
a tiny minority, they are used as an opportunity to try to turn communities
against each other.

So let us
all be clear, the man who unleashed carnage on Manchester, targeting the young
and many young girls in particular, is no more representative of Muslims, than
the murderer of Jo Cox spoke for anyone else.

Young
people and especially young women must and will be free to enjoy themselves in
our society.

I have
spent my political life working for peace and human rights and to bring an end
to conflict and devastating wars. That will almost always mean talking to
people you profoundly disagree with. That’s what conflict resolution is all
about.

But do
not doubt my determination to take whatever action is necessary to keep our
country safe and to protect our people on our streets, in our towns and cities,
at our borders.

There is
no question about the seriousness of what we face. Over recent years, the
threat of terrorism has continued to grow.

You
deserve to know what a Labour Government will do to keep you and your family
safe.

Our
approach will involve change at home and change abroad.

At home,
we will reverse the cuts to our emergency services and police. Once again in
Manchester, they have proved to be the best of us.

Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police
station door. We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap.

There will be more police on the streets under a Labour
Government. And if the security services need more resources to keep track of
those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them.  

We will
also change what we do abroad. Many experts, including professionals in our
intelligence and security services have pointed to the connections between wars
our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and
terrorism here at home.

That
assessment in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children. Those
terrorists will forever be reviled and implacably held to account for their
actions.

But an
informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an
effective response that will protect the security of our people, that fights
rather than fuels terrorism.

Protecting this country requires us to be both strong against terrorism
and strong against the causes of terrorism. The blame is with the terrorists,
but if we are to protect our people we must be honest about what threatens our
security.

Those causes certainly cannot be
reduced to foreign policy decisions alone. Over the past fifteen
years or so, a sub-culture of often suicidal violence has developed amongst a
tiny minority of, mainly young, men, falsely drawing authority from Islamic
beliefs and often nurtured in a prison system in urgent need of resources and
reform.

And no rationale based on the actions
of any government can remotely excuse, or even adequately explain, outrages
like this week’s massacre.

But we
must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. We need
a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and
generate terrorism.

That’s
why I set out Labour’s approach to foreign policy earlier this month. It is
focused on strengthening our national security in an increasingly dangerous
world.

We must
support our Armed Services, Foreign Office and International Development
professionals, engaging with the world in a way that reduces conflict and
builds peace and security.

Seeing
the army on our own streets today is a stark reminder that the current approach
has failed.

So, I
would like to take a moment to speak to our soldiers on the streets of Britain.
You are doing your duty as you have done so many times before.

I want to
assure you that, under my leadership, you will only be deployed abroad when
there is a clear need and only when there is a plan and you have the resources
to do your job to secure an outcome that delivers lasting peace.

That is
my commitment to our armed services.

This is
my commitment to our country. I want the solidarity, humanity and compassion
that we have seen on the streets of Manchester this week to be the values that
guide our government. There can be no love of country if there is neglect or
disregard for its people.

No
government can prevent every terrorist attack.
If an individual is determined enough and callous enough, sometimes they
will get through.

But the
responsibility of government is to minimise that chance, to ensure the police
have the resources they need, that our foreign policy reduces rather than
increases the threat to this country, and that at home we never surrender the
freedoms we have won, and that terrorists are so determined to take away.

Too often
government has got it wrong on all three counts and insecurity is growing as a
result. Whoever you decide should lead the next government must do better.

Today, we
must stand united. United in our communities, united in our values and united
in our determination to not let triumph those who would seek to divide us.

So for
the rest of this election campaign, we must be out there demonstrating what
they would take away: our freedom; our democracy; our support for one another.

Democracy
will prevail. We must defend our democratic process, win our arguments by
discussion and debate, and stand united against those who would seek to take
our rights away, or who would divide us.

Last week, I said that the Labour Party was about bringing our
country together.

Today I do not want to make a narrow party political
point.  Because all of us now need to stand together.

Stand together in memory of those who have lost their lives

Stand together in solidarity with the city of Manchester

And – stand together for democracy.

Because when we talk about British values, including tolerance and
mutual support, democracy is at the very heart of them.

And our General Election campaigns are the centrepieces of our
democracy – the moment all our people get to exercise their sovereign authority
over their representatives

Rallies, debates, campaigning in the marketplaces, knocking on
doors, listening to
people on the streets, at their workplaces and in their homes – all the arts of
peaceful persuasion and discussion – are the stuff of our campaigns.

They all remind us that our government is not chosen at an
autocrats’ whim or by religious decree and never cowed by a terrorist’s bomb.

Indeed, carrying on as normal is an act of defiance – democratic
defiance – of those who do reject our commitment to democratic freedoms.

 But we cannot carry on as though nothing happened in
Manchester this week.

So, let
the quality of our debate, over the next fortnight, be worthy of the country we
are proud to defend. Let’s have our arguments without
impugning anyone’s patriotism and without diluting the unity with which we
stand against terror.

Together,
we will be stronger. Together we can build a Britain worthy of those who died
and those who have inspired us all in Manchester this week.

Thank
you.