Category: Speeches

  • Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Financial Shortfalls in Local Government

    Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Financial Shortfalls in Local Government

    The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, on 9 July 2021.

    Councils were already reeling from a decade of cuts to their budgets but Ministers’ broken promises to fund local authorities for the costs of the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed them towards the brink.

    Councils across England are already being forced to cut the very staff we clapped at the start of the pandemic and reduce the crucial services our communities rely on.

    The Conservatives need to keep their promise to reimburse councils fully for the cost of keeping communities safe during the pandemic.

  • Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on the Armed Forces Bill

    Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on the Armed Forces Bill

    The comments made by Stephen Morgan, the Shadow Armed Forces Minister, on 9 July 2021.

    The Government’s Armed Forces Bill is too narrow and too weak. Its provisions do not apply to government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, and its narrow focus on housing, health care and education, risks creating a ‘two-tier’ Armed Forces Covenant that begins a race to the bottom on standards in those areas left out.

    Labour has tabled a series of amendments to the Bill to widen its scope. We will work with MPs of all parties to make sure the government keeps its promises to service personnel, veterans and their families.

  • Justin Madders – 2021 Comments on Reducing Sensitivity of Track and Trace App

    Justin Madders – 2021 Comments on Reducing Sensitivity of Track and Trace App

    The comments made by Justin Madders, the Shadow Health Minister, on 9 July 2021.

    It is hard to square this plan with the more transmissible Delta variant, now is not the time to be taking the batteries out of the smoke alarm.

    We need clear messages from Ministers about how contact tracing will work once more people are vaccinated – not mixed messages that suggest they just want more people to avoid being traced.

    With predictions of 100,000 cases a day an effective contact tracing system will be crucial to stop cases spiralling out of control. Without one, Ministers are gambling with summer.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Financial Cost of Priti Patel’s Bullying

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Financial Cost of Priti Patel’s Bullying

    The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 9 July 2021.

    Taxpayers will be appalled at having to pick up the Bill for the Home Secretary’s unacceptable behaviour with £370,000 having been used to settle the case – this money could have been used on extra police officers, or tackling anti-social behaviour.

    It was wrong that when Priti Patel broke the Ministerial Code, it was the Prime Minister’s independent adviser who resigned.

    As usual with this Government it is one rule for them, another for everyone else.

  • Louise Haigh – 2021 Comments on Visit to Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    Louise Haigh – 2021 Comments on Visit to Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 9 July 2021.

    Lyra McKee is an inspiration to me and so many across these islands and around the world. She was a tolerant, progressive voice for change.

    It was such an honour to walk across the Peace Bridge with Lyra’s partner, Sara Canning. Out of terrible grief and trauma, she is building on Lyra’s remarkable legacy and continues to show incredible courage in speaking out.

    The work to build on the promise of peace depends on all of us standing squarely alongside those like Sara.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Visit to Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Visit to Peace Bridge in Derry/Londonderry

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 9 July 2021.

    Lyra McKee was the very best of Northern Ireland. She dreamt of a future of equality and reconciliation.

    Lyra’s partner, Sara Canning has fought a determined campaign for justice. Her determination to build on Lyra’s legacy, and to build a lasting peace, is humbling and demands all our support.

    I was honoured to cross the Peace Bridge, a symbol of reconciliation between two communities, with Sara.

  • Jim McMahon – 2021 Comments on Traffic Light Travel System

    Jim McMahon – 2021 Comments on Traffic Light Travel System

    The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, on 8 July 2021.

    I requested that the data for every country be published so that travellers and the industry could forward plan and know the direction of travel for each country. Simply publishing the data for a limited number of countries after you’ve made a decision isn’t helpful.

    It’s clear that Government must hold the data informing traffic light risk assessments for each country, but is choosing to only publish an extremely limited selection. Could you explain why that is, and when will you finally publish – or direct the JBC to publish – the full data for country, which you implied had already been done?

  • Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on Steel Import Safeguards

    Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on Steel Import Safeguards

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, on 29 June 2021.

    There is just one day to go until the Government announces whether or not it will retain crucial steel import safeguards.

    This is an incredibly significant decision for our steel industry, and a major test of this Government’s promise to protect and champion British businesses post-Brexit.

    The Business Secretary cannot allow our vital UK industries to be thrown under the bus by the Trade Secretary. Failure to maintain these safeguards would be a betrayal of Britain’s steel industry, a betrayal of communities across the country, and a self-defeating hammer blow to our national interest.

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Education Catch-Up

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Education Catch-Up

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 29 June 2021.

    The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought throughout this pandemic and Kevan Collins is right to describe their plans as ‘feeble’.

    Parents and schools are crying out for help and they’re just not getting it. The Government cannot simply wait until September to act on self-isolation and other measures we have been calling for.

    Ministers must work with their expert scientific advisers now to review the bubbles system ahead of the summer holidays to ensure as many children can be in the classroom as possible.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on the Net Zero Review

    Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on the Net Zero Review

    The comments made by Bridget Phillipson, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 30 June 2021.

    There’s a real danger this green bonds announcement is all talk and no action – just like the Chancellor’s long delayed Net Zero Review – and a distraction from the critical job of halting climate breakdown.

    We need far more details and a watertight guarantee that these bonds are spent properly on the green jobs and initiatives that will curb climate breakdown.

    The Chancellor must stop dragging his heels, and publish his final report into the Net Zero Review which has now been delayed since Autumn 2020.

    And he should hardwire his Net Zero targets into his upcoming spending review, as Labour would do.