UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on the NHS People Plan

    Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on the NHS People Plan

    The comments made by Justin Madders, the Shadow Health Minister, on 30 July 2020.

    Ministers have outlined some worthy commitments on staff wellbeing, but without extra funding staff will continue to be overstretched and overworked.

    The Government promised a full five-year People Plan with detailed, costed action. This falls a long way short of that.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has shown just how valuable and loved NHS staff are – it’s time the Government put together a proper solution for recruitment and retention, including the pay talks that NHS workers deserve. The rhetoric on support for NHS staff needs to be matched with action.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Customs Lorry Park in Kent

    Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Customs Lorry Park in Kent

    The comments made by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 30 July 2020.

    This giant lorry park will stand as a symbol of the Government’s failure to plan properly for Brexit, with so little achieved in four years and only five months to go before the end of the transition period.

    Ministers need to explain how much this park will cost and how it will operate, and reassure residents who understandably fear it will make their lives a misery.

    When Boris Johnson talked about relaxing planning laws, no one thought he meant turning part of the Garden of England into a lorry park the size of about 15 football pitches.

    The Prime Minister promised an ‘oven-ready’ deal and said there would be extra cash for major projects. No one imagined that meant concreting over the countryside to build a lorry park.

  • Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on the UK’s Energy Statistics

    Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on the UK’s Energy Statistics

    Comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, on 30 July 2020.

    The figures are moving in the right direction, but not yet at the pace befitting the scale of the climate crisis facing us all.

    As COP26 hosts, the UK should be blazing the trail in the global fight against climate change with a Green New Deal. Yet we are falling behind our European neighbours, whose investment in a green recovery has dwarfed this government’s.

    With billions of taxpayer pounds being channelled by ministers into fossil fuels abroad and the UK still off track for meeting our targets, the Government’s actions are clearly still too piecemeal and inconsistent.

  • Energy Saving Trust – 2020 Statement of Apology on their Management of the Bike Voucher Scheme

    Energy Saving Trust – 2020 Statement of Apology on their Management of the Bike Voucher Scheme

    The statement made by the Energy Saving Trust on 29 July 2020 after problems with their management of the Bike Voucher Scheme.

    Energy Saving Trust would like to apologise for the frustration and inconvenience at the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme website being taken offline. This was due to unprecedented high demand at launch, the site was inundated with users attempting to gain access at the same time. The website was designed for high volumes of traffic, however, at the time of the scheme launching, demand in fact far exceeded even our highest expectations.

    Our team continue to work hard to resolve these issues and have the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme available as soon as possible. We will post any updates on the website and on our social media channels.

  • Anna McMorrin – 2020 Comments on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    Anna McMorrin – 2020 Comments on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    Comments made by Anna McMorrin, the Shadow International Development Minister, on 29 July 2020.

    We believe, the UK must show global leadership and work with our partners on the international stage to ensure every action is taken to guarantee current aid remains unimpeded and that we play our part in the global response to COVID19. We are also urging the Government to increase its efforts to bring about an end to hostilities in Syria.

  • Marsha de Cordova – 2020 Comments on Virus and Ethnicity

    Marsha de Cordova – 2020 Comments on Virus and Ethnicity

    Comments made by Marsha de Cordova, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, on 29 July 2020.

    Of course further research is always welcome and will provide an evidence base, but we all know this should have started months ago.

    Given the Government’s poor track record on taking action, let’s hope this time the findings translate into real change.

  • Luke Pollard – 2020 Comments on National Food Strategy Report

    Luke Pollard – 2020 Comments on National Food Strategy Report

    Comments made by Luke Pollard, the Shadow Environment Secretary, on 29 July 2020.

    This report reinforces the urgent need for action on the two biggest food challenges facing Britain: the growing scandal of food poverty and the need to prevent British farmers being undercut in new trade deals.

    Far too many children are growing up in difficult circumstances and do not receive free school meals while their families struggle to make ends meet. The Government should be working to ensure every family can afford for their children to get a healthy hot meal every day.

    Having heard the message from Labour, the public and farmers that we do not want lower food standards, perhaps hearing it from its own advisor will force the Government to secure Britain’s high food and farming standards in law.

  • Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Amazon Offering Free Food Deliveries

    Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Amazon Offering Free Food Deliveries

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, on 29 July 2020.

    The food retail sector has played a hugely important role during the Covid-19 pandemic, from those working in the supply chain, to supermarket staff and delivery van drivers.

    The pandemic has changed how people live, work and shop, and retailers have adapted in response, with grocery sales helping drive up retail figures.

    The world increasingly moving online means scope for innovation, but there must be a level playing field between the high street and online retail. Time after time the Tories have disadvantaged businesses based on bricks compared to businesses based on clicks.

  • Lissie Harper – 2020 Letter to the Prime Minister on her Husband’s Trial

    Lissie Harper – 2020 Letter to the Prime Minister on her Husband’s Trial

    The letter sent by Lissie Harper, the wife of the murdered police officer PC Andrew Harper, to the Prime Minister and Home Secretary on 29 July 2020.

    Dear Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, David Blunkett and any other person in which has the power, moral value and sheer strength of character to right such a despicable wrong for our Country…

    I am sure you are acutely aware of the details of the recent trial for the conviction of my late husband PC Andrew Harper’s killers. Not only was this the second of two trials as the first one eventually had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, but it was also an utter injustice. Not only were the three remorseless men found Not-guilty by a possibly influenced jury of 11, but the way in which the trial was conducted, the suspected interference with the jury and the manner in which the defendants behaved was a total disregard for any legal justice system. Myself among what appears to be almost the whole country are frankly outraged and determined to have this miscarriage of justice overturned.

    After the worst possible year any person can face I am immensely drained and devastated, More to the point I am not even sure if there is realistically anything that can be achieved by this letter. However what I will say is that if there is even the slightest chance that this abominable injustice can be rectified then I will do everything I possibly can to ensure that it is.

    Not only was my husband brutally killed in the most savage and cruel way but he was also an on duty devoted police officer coming to the aid of an innocent member of the public whilst the defendants attempted to commit crimes as they admit without guilt that they do as a lifestyle.

    There are many, many details in which made this recent trial atrociously below board including the fact that one member of the jury was dismissed well into the trial due to being over friendly with the defendants as well as their families, in addition to making inappropriate comments to the defendants in court in which was witnessed by members of the prison service. On top of this following the first trial it was suspected that there could be jury interference and was therefore necessary for the jury to be given special protection by the police after detectives had intel to suggest that family of the defendants were making plans to intimidate them. This alone in our eyes should be enough grounds for a retrial.

    Further to this there had been moments in which the jury seemed to be behaving questionably, for example smiling up at the defendants families, as well as being seen to run out of court very quickly during lunch breaks possibly in order to avoid the swarms of traveller families camped out outside the court.

    Believe me, I could go on and on about all of the aspects of this case that quite frankly have not been considered. It is important to note that the Police and detectives had left no stone unturned in order to provide a wealth of evidence against the defendants to show how culpable they are for the murder of my husband. The prosecution barristers made our case spectacularly and with clarity, dignified in the truth.

    On the other side of things laid barely a defence whatsoever. Even the reconstruction in which to so many showed clearly that at least Henry Long would have known that he was dragging a heavy person behind his car played heavily to a conviction of murder. The jury by all accounts had a very clear journey to follow, a story of indisputable facts and detail was right there in front of them for all to see. These are the reasons that leave the entire country shocked and mystified as to how this could have possibly been a trial of honest and equitable decision.

    The horrific details of the way in which my husband was killed need no repetition, once heard leave a devastating imprint on the minds of anyone who hears them. So for those who have sat day after day seeing footage and photos more horrifying than any they had probably ever had the misfortune of seeing before, for those who have sat whilst coroners divulge the senseless and heartbreaking injuries that Andrew received that night back in August, how is it at all possible to come to any conclusion other than a guilty verdict of murder?

    I am very aware that myself and our families are of course biased, we will always know the truth, and in honesty if this had been a fair trial I may have been more inclined to leave it be and try to accept the verdict that has been reached. However along with the whole world it seems to me, we can all see as plain as day that it clearly has not been a fair trial whatsoever.

    So whomever it may be that I must speak to, whoever the correct person, establishment or government body that has the power to help me to claim justice for an innocent man robbed of his life, to ensure that these three immoral, barbaric and shameless men are made to pay for their crimes, not only for Andrew but also for our whole country. I will keep fighting on behalf of Andrew, the future that was stolen from us and also the victims who find themselves in this unjustly situation in the future.

    After all, who are we if we allow our legal system to fail us? What is this country if it does not provide justice for the innocent? What does it say to the public and the Police officers, old and new if every day they go out and put themselves at risk to detain these criminals just to witness them be treated so exceptionally lightly in the eyes of the law? It says that we are weak, that we will roll over to the despicable thieves and vile miscreants of this world and literally let them get away with murder.

    In total honesty I could write and write until my fingers hurt, I could pour my heart further into this letter, I could scream and shout and stand with fierce determination in the eyes of opposition over this crucial matter. After all what else can I do for my husband now? My heart bleeds for the life that was so selfishly taken from us, but yet in arduous restraint I will not go on any further.

    So I implore you to hear my words, see the facts that are laid out before us, and I ask with no expectations other than hope that you might help me to make these changes be considered, to ensure that Andrew is given the retrial that he unquestionably deserves and to see that the justice system in our country is the solid ethical foundation that it rightly should be. Not the joke that so many of us now view it to be.

    Please feel able to share my letter far and wide to whomever you see to be appropriate and impactful.

    Kindest regards
    Lissie Harper

  • Grant Shapps – 2020 Comments on Spaceflight Programme

    Grant Shapps – 2020 Comments on Spaceflight Programme

    Comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 29 July 2020.

    The UK’s space sector can strengthen our national capabilities, create high-skilled jobs and drive future economic growth across the UK.

    Getting the rules in place for space launches from UK territory may seem like one small step. But it paves the way for a giant leap in the development of our space sector.

    This is technology’s high frontier and we will soon be able to reach it with specialist small payload launches from British soil.