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Category: Speeches

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2020 Comments on Bank of England Economic Outlook

    Anneliese Dodds – 2020 Comments on Bank of England Economic Outlook

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 6 August 2020.

    Today’s assessment by the Bank of England shows that this is a critical moment for our economy. A short-term, post-lockdown rise in spending sits alongside a much more uncertain long-term picture of very low levels of business investment and the prospect of a sharp rise in unemployment.

    The Government has still not got a grip on the health crisis and we won’t recover from this economic crisis until it does. That means fixing test, trace and isolate to give people the confidence they need to go back out and get spending again.

    And the Chancellor is still ploughing on with his one-size-fits-all approach to withdrawing income support, despite calls from businesses to think again. If he won’t, the recovery will be stopped in its tracks and the jobs crisis Britain faces will get much worse. It’s not too late to change course.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2020 Comments on Child Poverty

    Seema Malhotra – 2020 Comments on Child Poverty

    The comments made by Seema Malhotra, the Shadow Employment Minister, on 6 August 2020.

    These figures must serve as a wakeup call to the Government. Labour has repeatedly called on the Government to scrap the benefit cap to avoid the picture we are seeing today.

    This is a policy that is pushing children and families into poverty. With around eight job seekers for every vacancy, rising to 20 per vacancy in some parts of the country, this is a Government totally out of touch with the reality of people’s lives.

    The Government must target support at those most in need, rather than pursuing a one size fits all approach. Ending the benefit cap would put much-needed cash into the pockets of Britain’s poorest families, helping them through this crisis without a devastating increase in household debt.

  • Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on Contact Tracing System

    Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on Contact Tracing System

    The comments made by Justin Madders, the Shadow Health Minister, on 6 August 2020.

    It’s deeply concerning that the numbers are heading in the wrong direction again this week, with so many of the close contacts of people who have tested positive, and over 40 per cent of people in the same households, not being reached.

    We now need a plan of action from Ministers that sets out what they are doing to address these huge holes in the contact tracing system.

    If this means supporting local areas to establish their own local contact tracing systems and ending the failed contract with Serco – as Labour has been calling for, for some time – then Ministers must get on and implement this without delay. We urgently need to get test and trace back on track.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Privatisation During Pandemic

    Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Privatisation During Pandemic

    The comments made by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 6 August 2020.

    The Conservatives have consistently tried to privatise throughout this pandemic and turn to a small number of corporations instead of using public health expertise.

    The Government’s decision to hand SERCO millions for contact tracing has been an expensive mistake in comparison to what can be achieved by local councils and established public health approaches.

    Ministers should swallow their pride, learn lessons and choose to better support the public sector instead of SERCO’s shareholders.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on Dominic Cummings

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on Dominic Cummings

    The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 6 August 2020.

    Boris Johnson’s failure to confront Dominic Cummings over his lockdown breach was a monumental misjudgment.

    The government rightly asked the British people to make huge sacrifices to drive down infection rates. So to have allowed his most senior advisor to blatantly break the rules undermined vital life saving public health messaging at the peak of this deadly pandemic.

  • Kate Green – 2020 Comments on Education Policy Institute Analysis

    Kate Green – 2020 Comments on Education Policy Institute Analysis

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 7 August 2020.

    While more money for schools is welcome, this research shows that the National Funding Formula is neither efficient nor effective at directing money to schools serving the most disadvantaged.

    If the Government really wants to ‘level up’ and get value for the taxpayer, it should prioritise ensuring the largest funding increases reach the students who need the most support. Especially at a time when Covid-19 threatens to widen the attainment gap further.

    This formula is a nonsense that claims to fund schools fairly but actually bakes in inequality.

  • Louise Haigh – 2020 Comments on Funding for Northern Ireland

    Louise Haigh – 2020 Comments on Funding for Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 7 August 2020.

    The Protocol has to be made to work, so any new detail will be welcome. But Ministers have left little room for manoeuvre to develop the new system, train staff and prepare businesses by January 1st. Leaving it to the last minute, only adds uncertainty for jobs and business.

    And with time running out, big questions remain unanswered d. Traders are still waiting for detail on the proportion of physical checks on agri-food goods at NI ports, little is known about which goods will face tariffs, nor on whether exit summary declarations will be needed NI-GB. It’s time businesses in Northern Ireland were given the answers they need.

  • Louise Haigh – 2020 Comments on Funding for the Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation

    Louise Haigh – 2020 Comments on Funding for the Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation

    The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 7 August 2020.

    The Prime Minister has failed to keep the promise he made to victims of terror and to the peace foundation, and this failure risks removing vital support for victims.

    It is frankly insulting to victims, that at the same time the service they rely on is placed into doubt, a life peerage carrying with it a £313 per day allowance is awarded to Claire Fox who steadfastly refuses to apologise for defending the Warrington Bombings.

    The Prime Minister can, and must, block her peerage and he can and must secure the future of the foundation.

  • Kate Green – 2020 Comments on Ofqual Appeals

    Kate Green – 2020 Comments on Ofqual Appeals

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 7 August 2020.

    This belated decision to allow some schools to appeal grades, following repeated concerns being raised by parents, pupils, teachers, and the Labour Party, is welcome, but does not go far enough in ensuring that the system will be fair for all young people.

    The Scottish Highers scandal shows the potentially devastating consequences of an inflexible system deciding grades, and life chances, by algorithm rather than genuine leadership from government.

    The government should have ensured that Ofqual had a robust appeals system in place from the beginning, instead of announcing one a matter of days before A-Level results. They must do far more to ensure the system is genuinely fair.

  • Angela Rayner – 2020 Comments on Dominic Cumming’s Lockdown Breach

    Angela Rayner – 2020 Comments on Dominic Cumming’s Lockdown Breach

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 7 August 2020.

    The Dominic Cummings saga has already done incredible damage to public trust, and the public are rightly angry that there is one rule for the Prime Minister’s chief advisor and one for the rest of us.

    Dominic Cummings has said that there are photos and data proving that he is was in London on the 19th April, and the Prime Minister has said that he has seen this evidence. The public have a right to know whether the Prime Minister’s chief advisor made a second lockdown-breaching trip to Durham, and it is surely therefore only right that this evidence is produced.

    If Dominic Cummings was in London during both the morning and afternoon of the 19th April, and not in Durham as has been alleged, I’m sure that he the Prime Minister will welcome this opportunity to set the record straight.