Category: Speeches

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Regional Variances in GDP

    Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Regional Variances in GDP

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 1 February 2021.

    These figures confirm what we already know: the pandemic, and the Government’s handling of it, is worsening regional inequality.

    We need a responsible approach to secure our economy and bring jobs to every village, town and city.

    Instead, the Chancellor is hitting families with a triple hammer blow of cuts to Universal Credit, a massive hike in council tax and a pay freeze for millions of key workers. It’s economically illiterate.

  • Lucy Powell – 2021 Comments on ASOS Purchasing Arcadia

    Lucy Powell – 2021 Comments on ASOS Purchasing Arcadia

    The comments made by Lucy Powell, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 1 February 2021.

    Losing these shops will be terrible for our country’s high streets, and this deal provides no comfort to the thousands of people whose jobs are at risk.

    Despite the wipe out of popular high street names we’re witnessing, this Government is still disadvantaging high street businesses against online-only companies.

    Companies are facing a cash crisis, and Ministers must end the sticking plaster approach to support and bring forward a comprehensive plan to see businesses through this crisis and beyond.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on South African Strain of Virus

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on South African Strain of Virus

    The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 1 February 2021.

    This is deeply worrying. It shows the UK Government’s quarantine system is not working with the country being exposed to dangerous strains of the virus and new cases now appearing.

    While door-to-door testing is welcome in areas where cases of the South African variant with no links to travel have been identified, how can the Home Secretary justify keeping our borders open to Covid, allowing around 21,000 people to arrive every day?

    Conservative MPs must vote with Labour today to secure our borders against Covid and help to prevent progress on the vaccine being undermined.

    The Government must also ensure that adequate isolation support is put in place for those required to self-isolate.

  • Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Cladding

    Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Cladding

    The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 1 February 2021.

    Today needs to be a turning point for those affected by the cladding scandal. Millions of people have been sucked into this crisis due to years of dither, delay and half-baked solutions from the Government.

    For many leaseholders, the dream of home ownership has become a nightmare. They feel abandoned, locked down in flammable homes and facing ruinous costs for repair work and interim safety measures.

    I urge Conservative MPs to vote with us in Parliament today and put their constituents’ safety and security first. And I urge the Government to get a grip of this crisis through a national taskforce and by implementing Labour’s six demands.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on Children’s Operations Being Cancelled

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on Children’s Operations Being Cancelled

    The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 1 February 2021.

    Reports that urgent children’s operations have been cancelled is deeply alarming; it puts children’s health at risk and reveals the intensity of pressure on the NHS in this wave.

    Years of cutbacks, understaffing and underfunding left our NHS vulnerable heading into this pandemic and now swathes of vital non-Covid care are cancelled.

    Children must not become the forgotten victims of this crisis. Child health and well-being must always be a priority.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 1 February 2021.

    The UK has developed and invested in some of the world’s most promising vaccines – supporting global efforts to fight this virus.

    The Valneva vaccine showcases the best of Scottish expertise right at the heart of our UK vaccine endeavour, demonstrating the strength of our union and what the UK can achieve when it works together. If the vaccine is authorised by the health regulator, it will be rolled out across the four nations as quickly as possible.

  • Alister Jack – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    Alister Jack – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    The comments made by Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland, on 1 February 2021.

    This deal is an endorsement of the UK Government’s strategy of investing in vaccine development and in the skills of the Scottish life sciences sector.

    I pay tribute to the team in Valneva’s new Livingston manufacturing plant. If the vaccine is authorised by the health regulator, their expertise will play an important role in making the world safer from this virus.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister, on 1 February 2021.

    This deal provides a further boost to the UK’s already-strong vaccine portfolio, and I am enormously proud of all the work which has gone in to securing a vaccine for the UK as soon as possible.

    If approved, Valneva’s vaccine will not only help tackle Covid-19 here in the UK, but aid our mission to ensure there is a fair supply of vaccines across the globe.

    No one is safe till the whole world is safe.

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2021 Comments on Valneva Vaccine

    The comments made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, on 1 February 2021.

    This latest deal is yet another weapon in our national arsenal against this terrible disease, and will ensure we have sufficient supplies to protect the British public in 2021 and beyond.

    Backed with major investment from the UK Government, Valneva’s site in Scotland will be a vaccine production powerhouse, working flat out to ensure we can quickly deploy jabs across the UK if their candidate is approved, while supporting top quality, local jobs.

    Thanks to our incredible UK Vaccine Taskforce, we have now secured a bumper portfolio of over 400 million vaccines, putting our country in an exceptionally strong position to defeat this virus once and for all.

  • Suella Braverman – 2021 Comments on the Unduly Lenient Scheme

    Suella Braverman – 2021 Comments on the Unduly Lenient Scheme

    The comments made by Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, on 1 February 2021.

    For over 30 years, the ULS scheme has helped victims of crime and their loved ones get justice. The scheme includes many more offences now than it did when it was first launched, allowing us to look at more sentences which don’t appear to fit the crime.

    In the vast majority of cases, judges get it right, but the scheme is important to ensure that certain cases can be reviewed where there may have been a gross error in the sentencing decision.