Labour

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health, responding to the British Medical Association’s findings that almost a fifth of EU doctors have made plans to leave the UK, said:

“It is extremely worrying that almost a fifth of EU doctors have already made solid plans to leave the UK following the EU referendum result. On the day the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the Commons, this shocking news must spark immediate action from the Prime Minister.

“Theresa May must urgently safeguard the future of EU workers and stop treating them as bargaining chips in her reckless Brexit negotiations. Failure to do so seriously risks increasing staff shortages and exacerbating the already dire crisis in our health and care system.”

The UK Government must do more to help Barbuda rebuild for the long term after Hurricane Irma, Labour says after a meeting with the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP met Prime Minister Browne and High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill today to get an update on the latest situation on the island.

Barbuda was entirely evacuated after the hurricane in September and requires $250 million to rebuild its infrastructure. In the longer term, it needs support to develop resilience to the impact of climate change.

The meeting comes after Kate Osamor visited the island and met Prime Minister Browne last month.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Barbuda was devastated by Hurricane Irma but the response from our Government was painfully slow. I was pleased to welcome the Prime Minister and High Commissioner to discuss what more needs to be done.

“The UK must provide the help Barbuda needs to rebuild now and for the long term. And we must face up to the reality of climate change and the impact it is having around the world, particularly on small island states.” 

Kate Osamor, Shadow International Development Secretary, said: 

“When I met with Prime Minister Browne last month and saw the devastation from Hurricane Irma in Barbuda with my own eyes, it was obvious the world must do much more to help those worst hit by climate disaster, who are often the least of the polluters. 

“The UK’s international development policy must do more to level the playing field, and tackle the root causes of inequality, poverty and climate change.”

Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary, said: 

“The effects of climate change and rising sea levels have only worsened after the hurricanes we have seen in the past months. The Caribbean produces only a fraction of the world’s carbon emissions, so there is a responsibility on the part of big industrial countries to help those regions most at risk. 

“Simple aid packages and building projects are not good enough. Those Caribbean islands most affected need support in creating sustainable defences and structures against the hurricanes to come.”

Keir Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, responding to David Davis’s announcement about a Withdrawal Agreement [and Implementation] Bill, said:

“This is a significant climbdown from a weak government on the verge of defeat.

“For months, Labour has been calling on ministers to guarantee Parliament a final say on the withdrawal agreement. With less than 24 hours before they had to defend their flawed Bill to Parliament they have finally backed down. However, like everything with this government the devil will be in the detail.

“Ministers must now go further. They need to accept Labour’s amendments that would ensure transitional arrangements, and protect jobs and the economy from a cliff edge.”

Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to Michael Gove’s comments on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, said:

“Boris Johnson’s cavalier approach to international diplomacy is compounded this morning by Michael Gove claiming he has no idea what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing in Iran. It has always been clear, she was on holiday visiting her family.

“It appears Gove is more interested in protecting Johnson’s job than the liberty of a British citizen in jail in Iran.

“Theresa May must ensure Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe does not pay the price for her ministers’ bungling.”

Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, commenting on proposals for a new environmental watchdog, said:

“We will have to wait to see whether the proposed watchdog will have the independence, powers and funding it needs to properly enforce environmental law after Brexit. The Government must now put its warm words into action by supporting Labour’s environmental amendments to the Withdrawal Bill next week.

“Securing the future of our environment and the natural world requires more than just movement on governance and enforcement. Ensuring that environmental standards and protections are properly protected after Brexit requires a series of further changes to the Withdrawal Bill including the incorporation of the precautionary and polluter pays principles into UK law.

“Labour will be urging the Government to go further next week and take additional steps to guard against the desire of some in the Tory party to use Brexit as an opportunity to undermine hard-won environmental gains”.