Andrew
Gwynne, Labour’s National Election co-ordinator, responding to
the launch of the Conservative manifesto, said:

“Behind
the rhetoric, this is a manifesto that offers the majority of working people
and pensioners insecurity with a huge question mark over their living
standards.

“The
tax guarantee they previously made is gone. While they’ll guarantee Corporation
Tax falls to 17p they’re dropping their promise not to raise income tax and
National Insurance contributions, raising the spectre of tax rises on lower and
middle incomes. No wonder they’ve dropped their previous promise to raising
living standards and the phrase “living standards” doesn’t appear at all.

“This
manifesto is proof the Tories are ditching any claim to stand up for older
people. Pensioners stand to lose the pension guarantee in the next parliament,
the Winter Fuel Allowance is being hacked away at and their social care plans
could see those who need care forced to pay for it with their homes.

“For
our public services – slashed back by the Tories – there’s nothing but
insecurity in these plans. They’ve failed to match Labour’s commitment on
education and there’s no detail other than a vague promise on giving the NHS
funding – a promise they made in the past and broke.

“The
Tories stand up only for the few. For the many they offer the prospect of five
years of insecurity.”

Ends

Barbara Keeley, Labour’s Shadow Mental
Health Minister,
responding to the Tories’ social care announcement ahead of their manifesto,
said:

“You can’t trust the
Tories’ promises on social care. In their last manifesto they promised a cap on
care costs. But they broke their promise, letting older and vulnerable people
down.

“It’s the Tories who have
pushed social care into crisis; their cuts to councils have meant £4.6bn axed
from social care budgets between 2010-2015, leaving 1.2 million
people struggling to get by without care. And NHS bosses have recently said
that the money the Tories promised them won’t help alleviate the problems, with
bosses warning the system won’t see anything like the level of resource
required.

“We need real action to
fix the system, not reheated broken promises with little detail about how
they’ll be delivered.

“While the Tories offer
more of the same failure and broken promises, Labour has pledged action. We’ll
increase social care budgets by £8bn over the lifetime of the Parliament,
including an additional £1bn for the first year. We will set up a National Care
Service to provide the care that people deserve.”

Ahead
of the Conservative Party’s Manifesto launch, Labour is today publishing a
document looking at the Tories’ record of broken promises.

The
document – entitled: ‘One Tory Manifesto. Two years of Failure. 50 Broken
Promises’ – lists 50 examples of when the Conservatives broke their word. From
the NHS to education, from living standards to policing, the Tories have broken
their promises time and again. 

·        
They promised on the economy, but they have
missed every debt and deficit target they set themselves

·        
They promised to raise living standards, but working
families are set to be on average over £1,400 a year worse off

·        
They promised to improve all standards of NHS care,
but A&Es are in their worst state on record and hospitals are in
financial crisis

·        
They promised to protect school spending, but per
pupil spending is going down and class sizes are soaring

As
they launch their latest manifesto, it is a reminder that the Tories can’t be
trusted to keep their word.

Andrew
Gwynne, Labour’s National Election Co-ordinator, said:

“When Theresa May launches the Tory manifesto we can
expect her to make a raft of promises to the British people. But, as the
Conservatives make their latest solemn pledge there’s one thing we must bear in
mind: we’ve been here before.

“Theresa May pretends
otherwise, but she is a politician with a track record of failure and broken
promises. From the economy to the NHS, and policing to schools, Theresa May’s
Tories have failed again and again to deliver on the pledges they made.

“They made promises, they
quickly broke them; they would do so again. The Tories can’t be trusted.
Britain cannot afford five more years of them and their broken promises.”

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party,
commenting on the death of Rhodri Morgan, the former First Minister for Wales,
said:

“Tonight
we’ve lost a good friend, a great man and, above all, a giant of the Welsh
Labour movement.

“I saw
Rhodri just last month, campaigning in Cardiff North with Carwyn Jones. 

“Rhodri
was an incredibly effective First Minister for Wales. He stood up for Wales, its
people’s future and its public services. So much was achieved in his nearly ten
years in the post, making a real success of devolution and laying the
foundations for what the Welsh Government is accomplishing today.

“I first
met Rhodri in 1987 on his election to Parliament and we became good friends.
Our thoughts are with his wife Julie and the rest of the family. They can be
truly proud of Rhodri’s enormous achievements.”

Carwyn
Jones Labour’s First Minister of Wales, said:

“Wales
hasn’t just lost a great politician, we’ve lost a real father figure. In very
many ways Rhodri wasn’t like other politicians, and that is why people warmed
to him, trusted him and felt like they knew him so well. He was funny, clever,
engaging on almost any topic and absolutely passionate about all things Welsh.

“I owe him a great deal, just as we all do in Welsh Labour. He did so much to
fight for, and then establish devolution in the hearts and minds of the public
in our country. His bright confidence was infectious, and we can see so much of
Rhodri’s can-do attitude in our modern Wales. That first decade of
self-governance, and making distinct choices for Wales will forever be
associated with his leadership.

“He will be hugely missed, and my thoughts are with Julie and all the family at
this sad time.”

Tom
Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Rhodri
was one of the greats and I’m very sad to learn of his death. 

“I was
with Rhodri and Julie on Thursday at a dinner in Cardiff for Labour MPs and he
was as irrepressible as ever, laughing and joking with friends and
guests. 

“He will
be remembered for his fierce intellect and his passion for the Welsh people,
whom he served with distinction. 

“He was a
gifted First Minister of Wales, a respected Labour leader and a fine man. 

“The
Labour movement will miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with Julie and the
family.”

The
Shadow Chancellor today has challenged the Chancellor to a live TV debate on
the economy before 8th June. In a video released online after Labour published
their manifesto and full costings, John McDonnell, said:  

“The
Labour Party published its manifesto and we published the detailed costings of
all our policy proposals and where the funding would come from to pay for those
policies.

“We
set the framework  for the management of our economy for the future,
managing the economy for the many not the few. 

“Now
we want to have a democratic debate in this election. Theresa May is hiding
from a debate with Jeremy Corbyn on television, but you know in France they had
that debate between the two main contenders for the presidency and it’s part of
our democratic system.

“So
come on Mr Hammond, come and have a debate with me because I believe once
we’ve had that debate people will realise just what your government is all
about.

“More
austerity stifling our economy, failing to ensure that people in work are
properly paid and undermining those people who can’t work as a result of your
benefit cuts.

“I’m
challenging Philip Hammond to a debate on Tory cuts and on the economic
strategy that Labour has set out for strong economy that benefits the many and
not few.