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Tag: 2021

  • Toby Perkins – 2021 Comments on the Lifetime Skills Guarantee

    Toby Perkins – 2021 Comments on the Lifetime Skills Guarantee

    The comments made by Toby Perkins, the Shadow Minister for Further Education and Skills, on 30 March 2021.

    You would be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives’ Lifetime Skills Guarantee is an April Fool’s joke, rather than a plan to help reskill our country after this pandemic.

    The Conservatives’ mishandling of the Covid crisis has led the UK to experience the worst economic crisis of any major economy. Their limited plans will now leave millions unable to access the skills they need to play their part in our recovery.

    Minister should urgently widen eligibility for the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to ensure it reaches all adults who could benefit.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Furloughed Workers and the Minimum Wage

    Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Furloughed Workers and the Minimum Wage

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

    This is no April Fool – the Chancellor really has decided to hit the lowest paid furloughed workers with a pay freeze in the middle of a pandemic. That’s on top of his real-terms pay cuts for our NHS Covid heroes, his massive hike in council tax for families across the country and his plans to slash Universal Credit in just a few months.

    Hitting Britain’s families in their pockets isn’t just wrong – it’s economically illiterate. If families have less money to spend, then businesses will suffer and the recovery will take longer. That’s the cost of the Conservatives.

  • Rishi Sunak – 2021 Comments on the Super Deduction Tax Allowance

    Rishi Sunak – 2021 Comments on the Super Deduction Tax Allowance

    The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 31 March 2021.

    The super-deduction is the biggest two-year business tax cut in modern British history – driving our economy by helping businesses to invest, grow and support our Plan for Jobs.

    I urge firms across the UK to invest in our recovery by taking advantage of this great opportunity.

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on the Pandemic and Young People

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on the Pandemic and Young People

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 30 March 2021.

    Young people have been the face of the Conservatives’ failure to manage the impacts of the pandemic, with spiralling unemployment hitting under-25s hardest.

    Successive Conservative Governments have hollowed out the infrastructure needed for young people to train and gain new skills after the pandemic, with those from poorest backgrounds worst hit by declining opportunities in further education.

    The Government is failing to live up to its rhetoric on the Kickstart Scheme and apprenticeships incentive which have created just a fraction of the promised opportunities. Ministers’ should heed Labour’s call for a ‘jobs promise’ to guarantee opportunities for the young people who need them, avoiding a lost generation.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Lex Greensill’s No.10 Business Card

    Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Lex Greensill’s No.10 Business Card

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 30 March 2021.

    This raises further serious questions about the special access Lex Greensill was granted to the heart of government.

    The public have a right to know what happened here – we need a full, transparent and thorough investigation.

  • Preet Gill – 2021 Comments on Aid Cuts to Syria

    Preet Gill – 2021 Comments on Aid Cuts to Syria

    The comments made by Preet Gill, the Shadow International Development Secretary, on 30 March 2021.

    Slashing life-saving support to a country where more than 90% of the population have been plunged into poverty after a decade of death and destruction is disgraceful.

    This is a devastating reminder of the real world impact the Conservatives’ politically motivated decision to abandon their manifesto commitment on aid will have on the world’s most vulnerable people.

    By cutting vital lifesaving aid to the Syrian people the Conservative government continue to preside over Britain’s shameful retreat from the world stage at a time when we need the international community to act together.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Conservative Party’s Record on Crime

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Conservative Party’s Record on Crime

    The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 30 March 2021.

    Under the Conservatives, criminals have never had it so good. We have seen violent crime rising in every part of the country and an explosion of County Lines gangs.

    The Conservatives’ tough talk on crime has one purpose – to disguise their record of abject failure of victims. Ministers should be ashamed of the soaring serious crime they have presided over.

    Labour at this election will be campaigning for more officers on the streets to tackle this unacceptable spread of violence.

    Labour Councils, PCCs and Mayors are standing up for their communities in the face of Tory cuts. With a Labour government they would have a partner in tackling crime, not a Conservative Party content to look the other way.

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Letter to Boris Johnson on Jennifer Arcuri

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Letter to Boris Johnson on Jennifer Arcuri

    The letter sent from Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, to Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 31 March 2021.

    Dear Prime Minister

    I am writing to you regarding comments made by your Press Secretary and official spokesperson yesterday, stating that the Independent Office for Police Conduct had found that claims regarding a potential breach of the rules in handing public money and access to Jennifer Arcuri were “untrue and unfounded”.

    The IOPC’s report does not include the phrase “untrue and unfounded”. Acting with integrity and honesty, as your Press Secretary claims you have always done in this matter, would mean that you should be happy to correct the record.

    Following the handing of £2 billion of taxpayers’ money in government contracts to donors and friends of the Conservative Party during the Coronavirus pandemic, there is significant and justified public concern regarding cronyism and special treatment for people with close relationships with and links to the Conservative Party and Ministers when it comes to public money and preferential treatment and access.

    With each passing week there are more revelations about Conservative Party cronyism and more allegations of the misuse of taxpayers’ money come to light, with recent events raising very serious questions about the conduct of former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and the special access granted to ministers and Whitehall departments for favoured business figures.

    It is in this context that the Greater London Authority investigation into whether any preferential treatment or access was given to Jennifer Arcuri during your time as Mayor of London takes on a renewed importance. As I am sure you would you agree, it is vital to ensure complete probity in all matters relating to the distribution of taxpayers’ money, and I would urge you to take urgent steps to assure the British people that there was no special or preferential treatment on your part in the awarding of public grants or preferential access to Jennifer Arcuri.

    The British people deserve to know that taxpayers’ money is spent with honesty and integrity on the basis of what you know, not who you know. So I would also urge you again to publish the details of companies who have been awarded government contracts through referral to a special “high priority” and “VIP” lane thanks to existing relationships with, or tips from, Conservative Ministers and Members of Parliament.

    Yours Sincerely

    Angela Rayner MP

  • Sean Doyle – 2021 Comments on Zero Emissions Flights

    Sean Doyle – 2021 Comments on Zero Emissions Flights

    The comments made by Sean Doyle, the CEO of British Airways, on 31 March 2021.

    Innovative zero emissions technology is advancing fast and we support the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach true zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050.

    There is a huge amount of energy and excitement building around the possibilities of a zero emissions future for aviation and while there is no single solution to this challenge, we acknowledge the need for urgent action to tackle the impact flying currently has on our planet and are making progress on our journey to net zero.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Vaccine Progress

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Vaccine Progress

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccines Minister, on 29 March 2021.

    Vaccines save lives and are the best way out of this pandemic, so I urge everyone, regardless of race or religion, to come forward for the vaccine when it’s your turn.

    The NHS, GPs, pharmacists and volunteers will continue to do everything they can to vaccinate people as quickly as possible and I’m immensely proud of their tireless efforts to reach this milestone so quickly.