Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to Philip Hammond’s remarks calling the EU “the enemy”, said:

“These are foolish remarks by Philip Hammond, and reveal that he is clearly feeling the pressure from Tory MPs calling for him to be sacked. The tone of this rhetoric will obviously not unblock negotiations or help protect our economic interests.

“The Chancellor should be putting the country before the infighting in his own party when he is representing us overseas, and refrain from acting like Basil Fawlty on holiday. It is vital that these negotiations do not lead to a situation where Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, risking jobs and living standards.

“This weak government has squandered the past months of the Brexit negotiations, squabbling with each other rather than trying to get the best deal for Britain. If they are not up to the job then they should step aside and let Labour take over.”

Barbara
Keeley MP,
Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, commenting on new
figures for delayed transfers of care due to a lack of social care, said:

“It
is worrying that the number of days that patients are stuck in hospital
due to a lack of social care has increased by more than a quarter since last
year.“

“Delayed
days caused by patients waiting for care packages at home and in care homes and
nursing homes have also increased this month, yet we still see no action from
the Tory Government to deal with the social care crisis.

“A
Labour Government would provide the urgent additional funding needed to deal
with the crisis in social care.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP,
Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy, commenting on the Government’s energy price cap announcement, said:

“The price cap legislation introduced today is
wholly inadequate and
proof that the Tories have broken their promise to help consumers.

“It has no detail on the cap, what level it will be
at, how it is to be calculated or whether consumers will receive the £100
savings they were promised. It passes the buck yet again to Ofgem.

“It does not even guarantee when the cap will be
introduced. And there is no reform of the market just an overall review which
will be drawn out.

“Labour would introduce an immediate emergency
price cap to ensure that the average dual-fuel household energy bill remains
below £1,000 per year, while we transition to a fairer system for bill payers.”

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s
Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the latest NHS Combined Performance
Statistics, said:

“These shocking figures demonstrate
that Theresa May’s winter crisis has firmly stretched into the summer months.

“NHS patients are now paying the
price of Tory underinvestment all year round, with thousands left stranded on
trolleys or waiting to be seen in overcrowded, understaffed A&E units.”

Keir
Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, has written to David Davis calling on him urgently to
request an additional emergency round of talks to try and reach an agreement
with EU negotiators before next week’s crucial EU Council meeting.

“Today’s
press conference confirms that the Government has failed to meet the target for
this round of negotiations.

“Ministers
have wasted months of the Brexit talks fighting amongst themselves. This
increases the chances that Britain will crash out of the EU without a deal.
That would be catastrophic for jobs and living standards and must be
rejected as a viable option.

“That is
why I have written to David Davis calling on the Government urgently to request
an additional emergency round of talks with EU negotiators in the coming days
to try and reach an agreement before next week’s EU Council meeting.

“The
Government must recognise the gravity of the situation. They must drop their
ideological red lines and work round the clock to find a resolution to the
current situation.”

Ends

Notes to
editors:

Full text
of the
letter:                     

Dear David

Article
50 negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union

I write
regarding the Article 50 negotiations between the UK Government and the
European Union (EU) following today’s press conference.

The
announcement of further progress on the rights of EU citizens and the issue of
Northern Ireland is welcome. It is also encouraging to see a more constructive
tone in the talks.

However, I
am deeply concerned that more than six months on from the triggering of Article
50 this round of discussions has ended without an agreement, with the European
Union warning of a “disturbing deadlock” over the divorce settlement. It now
looks likely that the EU Council next week will not be able to agree
negotiations have proceeded sufficiently to open up trade talks.

The
deadlock in negotiations increases the risk of Britain crashing out of the EU
without a deal. That would be catastrophic for jobs and living
standards and must be rejected as a viable option.

That is why
Labour is calling on the Government urgently to request an additional emergency
round of talks with EU negotiators in the coming days to try and reach an
agreement before next week’s EU Council meeting. The Government must recognise
the gravity of the situation, must drop the ideological red lines and work
round the clock to find a resolution to the current situation.

Given the
significant interest in this matter, I am making this letter public.

Yours
sincerely

Keir
Starmer MP

Shadow
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union