Labour

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to Jeremy Hunt’s claim in the House of Commons that the NHS pay cap has been lifted, said:

“The Secretary of State tells the Commons the NHS pay cap’s been lifted but he cannot say whether this is going to come from existing budgets or not. It looks like hospitals will be forced to cut other services to find the funds.

“Jeremy Hunt is trying to face both ways on NHS pay and it just means even more uncertainty. While the Government dithers, staff continue to leave the NHS and patients continue to be at risk from short staffed services. 

“There has still been no confirmation of any of this from the Treasury. The Government need to immediately confirm that extra funding will be provided to lift the NHS pay cap so that all staff can benefit from a long overdue pay rise.”

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John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the OBR’s Forecast evaluation report out today, said:

“Today’s report by the OBR is a damning indictment of the last seven years of Tory economic failure. We need no more proof that their austerity approach has failed to boost living standards or improve the long-term potential of the UK economy.

“Next month’s Budget cannot be another exercise in kicking the can down the road by Philip Hammond, we need to see substantial action.

“On a day when figures on construction published by the ONS show warning signs ahead for our economy, the mounting evidence for a change of direction from the Chancellor couldn’t be clearer.

“This OBR report supports Labour’s argument that weak investment is at the centre of our economy’s problems and has damaged productivity growth.

“The next Labour government will provide the proper investment our country needs. Our industrial strategy, National Transformation Fund and £10ph Real Living Wage stand in stark contrast to the Tories’ inactivity, and will help Labour build a high wage, high skill economy for the many not the few.”

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the announcement that BAE Systems will be cutting 1,915 jobs in the UK, said:

“This is truly appalling news for BAE’s workers and for communities across the UK.

“The jobs that BAE are cutting are highly-skilled and their loss will be felt in areas that have a strong tradition of defence manufacturing.

“It is time for the Government to address the clear uncertainty that is felt by the industry and come forward with an urgent plan to save these jobs. This must include the possibility of bringing forward orders to provide additional work for BAE’s employees, such as replacing the Red Arrows’ fleet of Hawk aircraft that are approaching the end of their service life.”

Dawn Butler MP, Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities, commenting on the release of the government’s Race Disparity Audit, said:

“The real ‘uncomfortable truth’ is that Theresa May knew that cuts to services would disproportionately affect groups with protected characteristics. So much so that she wrote to the then Prime Minister in 2010 warning that ‘there are real risks’ that women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people will be ‘disproportionately affected’ by proposed cuts.

“But as Prime Minister, knowing full well the damage that would be caused by the Conservative cuts, Theresa May has done nothing but exacerbate the problem. Far from tackling burning injustices, she has added fuel to the fire.

“If the Prime Minister really feels so strongly about this issue, why did she sit on this report and refuse to share it with parliament – despite Labour asking her to publish it three months ago? This Government’s report is not enough. What we need are solutions and a sustained effort to really tackle burning injustices.“

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Notes to editors

At the last election, Labour issued a race and faith manifesto to tackle problems of discrimination. Policy proposals included:

• introducing equal pay audit requirements on large employers

• launching an inquiry into names-based discrimination and consider rolling out name-blind recruitment practices if necessary

• implementing the Parker Review recommendations to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of Britain’s largest companies

• enhancing the powers and functions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Mental Health, commenting on the findings of the CQC’s State of Care Report 2017, said:

“It is unacceptable that over a third of NHS core mental health services require improvement on safety.

“Tory cuts have led directly to the problems mental health services are experiencing, including falls in nurse numbers, poor physical environments and long waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services.

“Labour will invest in mental health services and ring-fence budgets so that funding reaches the front line.

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