Matthew
Pennycook MP, Shadow Brexit Minister, responding to Liam
Fox’s comments to the House of Commons International Trade Committee, saying he is
“not afraid” of ending up with no deal, said:

“Liam
Fox’s comments expose the cavalier approach the Tories are taking to the Brexit
negotiations.

“Senior
Tories seem blind to the realities of what crashing out of Europe without an
agreement would mean. It would mean higher prices in the shops, longer queues
at the airport and potentially a significant risk for major parts of the economy. 

“Theresa
May should call out the fantasy Brexiteers in her own Cabinet and guarantee
that an agreement with Europe is reached.”

Peter Dowd MP,
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury,
speaking after the report stage and third reading of the Finance Bill, in which
the Government blocked Labour’s anti-tax avoidance amendments to the bill,
said:

“Today we have seen another example of the
Government’s desire to be seen to be doing something on tax avoidance, when in
fact the changes proposed are artificial and amount to little while the
exemption for offshore trusts remains intact.

“In the past month
alone, we have seen the government face a barrage of criticism from the
European Union for its poor record on tackling tax avoidance.”

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow
Secretary of State for Education, responding to the Government’s announcement they
will resume plans to sell off the student loan book, said

“Time and again, this Government is
returning to the same failed policies. They have repeatedly tried to privatise
the student loan book, only to abandon the idea when it became clear that it
was a bad deal for taxpayers and a bad deal for students.

“This new attempt at privatisation is typical of the short-sighted
approach to financial management we have seen under the Tories, desperately
swapping future income for a one-off boost to flatter their terrible record on
our national debt, which has almost doubled since 2010.                                                                                                                                                                                           “The next Labour Government will
address the real issues in student finance, by scrapping tuition fees and
bringing back maintenance grants as we build a National Education Service that
will transform Britain into a country for the many, and not the few.”

Justin Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow
Health Minister, responding
to today’s Royal College of Midwives report on agency spending in the NHS,
said:

“The Government’s management of
the NHS workforce has been a disaster for both staff and patients. The country
is now 3,500 short of the number of midwives needed and the RCM say almost
£100m is being used to plug the gaps with temporary staff.

“It’s essential that hospitals are
able to get the right number of midwives in place to keep mothers and their
babies safe. Labour’s research published earlier this year showed a huge rise
in temporary closures of maternity units because of short staffing. The
Government’s underfunding of the NHS is failing families in their time of need.

“Ministers must step in with a
long term workforce plan for the NHS and they should put an end to the
self-defeating pay cap. At the moment too much money is going to employment
agencies when it should be going to frontline patient care.”

Justin Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow
Health Minister, responding
to today’s Royal College of Midwives report on agency spending in the NHS,
said:

“The Government’s management of
the NHS workforce has been a disaster for both staff and patients. The country
is now 3,500 short of the number of midwives needed and the RCM say almost
£100m is being used to plug the gaps with temporary staff.

“It’s essential that hospitals are
able to get the right number of midwives in place to keep mothers and their
babies safe. Labour’s research published earlier this year showed a huge rise
in temporary closures of maternity units because of short staffing. The
Government’s underfunding of the NHS is failing families in their time of need.

“Ministers must step in with a
long term workforce plan for the NHS and they should put an end to the
self-defeating pay cap. At the moment too much money is going to employment
agencies when it should be going to frontline patient care.”