Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, commenting on the findings of the Resolution Foundation’s report on wage growth, said:

“The Resolution Foundation report succinctly encapsulates the hardship many across Britain are facing under the Tories and will continue to face in 2018.

“After seven years of Conservative economic mismanagement, the figures speak for themselves. Real wages are still lower than they were in 2010 and Britain faces a productivity crisis.

"This is not a Government willing or able to raise productivity and living standards for people in Britain.”

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, commenting on the Government’s recent announcement telling universities to stop no-platforming speakers, said:

“It is a false choice to suggest that universities are either places of free enquiry or places of safety. They can be both. Denying access to groups and individuals who incite violence and hatred is a perfectly sensible step to keep students safe from harm.

“The NUS has a ‘no-platform’ policy for a handful of racist, anti-Semitic and extremist organisations, some of which the Government itself has also banned. If Jo Johnson is opposed to that policy, he needs to be clear which of those groups he actually wants on campus. Otherwise, this so-called announcement is just another meaningless gimmick from a Government that has run out of ideas.”

Ends

Jon Trickett MP, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, commenting on reports that almost a thousand Government files detailing some of the most controversial episodes in 20th-century British history have vanished after the Government removed them from the country’s National Archives and then reported them as lost, said:

“The loss of documents about controversial periods in history is unacceptable.

"The British people deserve to know what the Government has done in their name and their loss will only fuel accusations of a cover-up.

"These important historical documents may be a great loss to history – and their disappearance must urgently be investigated.”

Ends

Sue
Hayman MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, commenting on a Tory U-turn on
fox hunting, said:

“After
backing fox hunting at the last election and promising a free vote in the Tory
manifesto Theresa May has been forced to U-turn on this cruel policy. Under
pressure from Labour, the Conservatives are finally rethinking their abysmal
record on animal welfare. 

“The
government must now move to halt their poorly regulated and unscientific badger
cull across England.

“The
Tories have taken rural areas for granted. While they continue to focus on fox
hunting, rural poverty remains a huge issue and infrastructure and services in
rural areas have been run into the ground.

“It’s time
this Government started taking action to tackle the real issues facing rural
communities.”

In his Christmas message, Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, calls for people to show each other care
and love. He says Britain is a “compassionate” country with people thinking of
others at this time of year, as well as enjoying themselves.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour
Party, said:

“At Christmas we spend time at home
with family and friends.

“It’s a time of the year when we think
about others. Like those who have no home to call their own or who are sleeping
rough on our streets.

“We think about those who feel cut off
and lonely. Many older citizens to whom we owe so much will be spending what
should be a time of joy alone.

“We think of others such as carers who
look after loved ones, people with disabilities or dementia.

“And abroad we think of those living in
nations like Yemen, Syria and Libya in fear of bombs and bullets, of injury and
death.

“None of this is inevitable. We pride
ourselves on being a compassionate nation.

“My Christmas wish is that we all do
more to help bring about the kind of society and world we want to live in.

“Whenever you can show people love,
show them you care and enjoy your Christmas.”