Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the TUC’s analysis which shows that if current trends continue the north-south divide will grow, said:

“It’s a stark exposure of seven years of Tory economic failure that the regions which are left behind in government investment are consistently those in the north of England.

“Labour will overturn our rigged economy by creating a Bank of the North to invest in the jobs of the future and that will stand up for the many not the few when it comes to government investment.”

Responding
to the Government losing its court bid to delay publication of its air quality
plan, Sue Hayman MP Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs said:

“Labour
welcome the High Court decision today.

“This
is the third time that the Government have lost in the courts on the issue of
air quality. They
must now publish their air quality plan without further delay.

“A
Labour government would bring forward a new Clean Air Act, setting out how we
would tackle air pollution that NHS experts say contributes to 40,000 premature
deaths every year. 

“While
the Conservatives shirk responsibility, Labour will deal with the dirty air
damaging the lives of millions of British people.”

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on Office
for National Statistics (ONS) figures showing an increase in crime over the
last year, said:

“These figures are a stark reminder of Theresa May’s record of
failure on policing and crime.

“Almost every force in the country recorded an increase in crime
over the last year, with worrying rises in some of the most violent offences,
including gun and knife crime and homicide.

“There is a real choice at this election on policing and crime.

“Theresa May recklessly cut police budgets as Home Secretary, with
the loss of over 20,000 officers, and plans to cut even further if re-elected.

“Labour will stand up for the many by prioritising neighbourhood
policing and bearing down on crime.”

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, commenting on today’s Institute For
Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysis of the impact of tax and benefit changes since
May 2015 on the incomes of different kinds of households, said:

“Today’s IFS analysis reveals the stark choice in
this election.

“The Tories pose a clear threat to working people’s
living standards. Under Tory proposals cuts to in-work support will leave
working families with children an average of £2,500 a year worse off.

“This General Election is a choice between a Labour
Party who will stand up for the many and a Tory Party which only looks after
the privileged few.”

● Affordable house-building at a 24-year low under Tory Government
● Rough sleeping doubled since 2010

Labour councils show the way to tackle housing crisis – building 50% more homes than Tories

Labour councils have out-built Tory councils by an average of nearly 1000 new homes since 2010, new research released by Labour reveals.

House of Commons Library analysis, commissioned by Labour, shows that in Conservative-led local authority areas there were 1,679 new homes built on average between 2010 and 2016, while Labour councils built 2,577 on average – more than 50% more homes. Liberal Democrat-led areas have an equally poor record – building just 1,660.

The figures will come as a further blow to ministers, as they try to defend their housing record ahead of the general election.

The latest statistics from the Department of Communities and Local Government show that housebuilding is falling, with just 140,660 new homes built in 2016, compared to 142,600 the year before.

Meanwhile affordable housebuilding is at a 24 year low, there are 200,000 fewer home-owners since 2010, and rough sleeping has more than doubled.

The new figures were released alongside a new report, edited by Shadow Secretary of State for Housing John Healey MP, showcasing the innovative work that Labour councils are doing on housing around the country.
Local Housing Innovations: The Best of Labour in Power profiles 20 Labour councils at the leading edge in building new homes for first time buyers, cutting homelessness, investing in super-energy efficient homes and delivering new council housing.

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, John Healey MP, said:

“After seven years of failure the Conservatives have no plan to fix the housing crisis, in which house-building fell to its lowest peacetime rate since the 1920s. From falling home-ownership to rising homelessness, Britain has a desperate housing crisis and needs many more good homes.

“These new figures show that Labour in power means building more homes for local people.

“Tory Ministers talk about getting Britain building but their own local councils are lagging behind.

Commenting on his new Local Housing Innovations report, John Healey MP said:

“Labour doesn’t just build more, we build better too. Labour councils across the country are pulling out all the stops to help people with the day-to-day housing pressures they face.”

On a visit to Harlow tomorrow, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will say:

“Britain faces a housing crisis, with runaway rents and unaffordable housing.  The system is rigged, with housing treated as an investment for the few, not homes for the many.

Seven years of Conservative failure, with homebuilding at the lowest levels since the 1920s, shows that they will never fix the housing crisis, which is holding so many people back.

Labour councils build more homes than Conservative ones. The next Labour government will build a million homes, at least half of them council homes, so that we build a Britain for the many not the few.”