Labour

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, responding to ONS data showing a sharp increase in house price per square metre since 2010, said:

“Britain’s housing crisis is a housing costs crisis for many people, as this report confirms. With the cost of buying and renting racing ahead of income rises, millions of younger people feel locked out of the housing market.

“Yet fewer new homes have been built under this Tory-led government since 2010 than with any peacetime government since the 1920s. These new official figures are yet another indictment of failing housing policy and a failing housing market. “Even Theresa May admits seven years of Conservative failure on housing was a big part of why her Party did so badly in the Election, yet she has no plan to fix the housing crisis.

“People whose lives are blighted by Britain’s broken housing market rightly expect Government to act but it’s only Labour’s long-term plan for a consumer rights revolution for renters, new discount homes for first time buyers and the big-scale building programme of genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy that will tackle the country’s housing crisis.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on reports that an energy price cap is unlikely to take effect this winter, said:  

“The Government needs to hurry up and get on with it if customers are to feel the benefit this winter. It is now mid-October and we are yet to have sight of the legislation, despite Labour’s persistent calls for the Government to take action.

“Not only is timely legislation necessary, when published it must compel Ofgem to implement a cap rather than simply handing over a power which they may or may not use.

“A Labour government will immediately introduce an emergency price cap, while we transition to a fairer system for bill payers.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on reports that Ebay only paid £1.6 million in UK tax despite registering $1.3 billion in revenue in Britain in 2016, said:

“As every day passes it is increasingly clear that this Conservative Government is incapable of tackling tax avoidance and ensuring that multinational corporations pay their way. The growing discrepancy between the revenues companies like Ebay record and the low level of tax they pay in the UK, only demonstrates how divorced from the reality of the modern economy our corporate tax system has become.

“The next Labour government will introduce our Tax Transparency and Enforcement Programme which will clamp down on tax avoidance and build an economy which works for the many, not the few.”

Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on accusations the Conservatives have rolled back on manifesto commitments on internet safety, said:

“The Culture Secretary seems to have bowed to pressure from the social media giants before her strategy had even been published. 

“The Tories made a clear and unambiguous promise in their manifesto to bring forward legislation to compel social media providers and other internet firms to pay a levy – but it’s now been watered down to a voluntary levy. We know from the gambling industry that a voluntary system allows companies to ignore their responsibilities and to underpay. Karen Bradley should keep her promise and make sure the tech giants do the right thing. 

“They have had nearly a decade to deal with these issues and failed. I find it hard to believe a voluntary code will change much. They may evade appropriate regulation from the Tories but they should know that a future Labour government will not succumb to their lobbying power.“

Cat Smith MP, Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on the Electoral Commission report on voting in 2017, said:

“Labour is committed to taking radical steps to ensure all eligible voters are registered and able to use their vote. We welcome the Electoral Commission’s findings that two thirds of voters support auto-enrolment with NI Numbers.

“A Labour government will extend the locations in which voter registration can take place and pilot the idea of polling day voter registration, as well as examining the use of government data to automatically place people on the electoral roll.”