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Tag: Speeches

  • Ed Balls – 2015 Comments on IFS and Conservative Spending Cuts

    Ed Balls – 2015 Comments on IFS and Conservative Spending Cuts

    The comments made by Ed Balls, the then Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 23 April 2015.

    The IFS has confirmed that the Tories are committed to the most extreme spending plans of any political party, with bigger cuts than any other advanced economy in the next three years.

    And the IFS condemns the Tories for being ‘misleading’ about their plans for cuts to public services. The truth the Tories won’t admit is their plans are so extreme they would end up cutting the NHS. Countries which have cut spending on this scale have cut their health service by an average of one per cent of GDP – the equivalent of £7 billion.

    The IFS also warns that Tory plans would mean radical changes to tax credits and child benefit. George Osborne must now come clean on his secret plans to take money away from millions of working families.

    With Labour’s plan the IFS confirms that both the deficit and national debt will fall and that we have given more detail on how we will achieve this.

    But the IFS’ numbers wrongly assume that Labour will get the current budget only into balance. Our manifesto pledge is to get the current budget not only into balance but into surplus as soon as possible in the next Parliament. How big that surplus will be, and how quickly we can achieve that in the next Parliament, will depend on what happens to wages and the economy.

    The Tories might be able to make the cuts but the last five years show they will fail to cut the deficit as they claim. They have borrowed £200 billion more than they planned because their failure to boost living standards has led to tax revenues falling short.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2015 Comments on Rising Crime Under David Cameron

    Yvette Cooper – 2015 Comments on Rising Crime Under David Cameron

    The comments made by Yvette Cooper, the then Shadow Home Secretary, on 22 April 2015.

    These figures show the first rise in recorded crime for ten years and expose the shocking complacency of David Cameron and Theresa May over crime and policing.

    And it shows the risk posed by the Tories who the IFS have this morning confirmed have the most extreme plans for cuts of any political party – cuts which risk thousands more police officers being lost the next three years than in the last five.

    Reports of violence against the person have increased by a fifth in the last year, sexual offences by over 30 per cent and reports of rape by 40 per cent. Yet the police are unable to cope and more criminals are getting away with these serious crimes.

    Proceedings against violent criminals are down, prosecutions and convictions for rape are down, prosecutions and convictions in child abuse offences are down. That means more criminals are getting away with it under this Tory-Lib Dem Government because the police can’t keep up.

    And crime is changing. Fraud, much of it online, continues to grow and much of it is still not recorded.

    Under the Tories we’ve seen almost 17,000 police cut, longer waits for 999 calls and less justice for victims. Now they plan even more extreme cuts to policing in the next Parliament even though the police are already struggling to keep up. Chief Constables are warning that neighbourhood policing will cease to exist and that they will not be able to keep up with serious growing crimes.

    At a time when the terrorist threat is rising, more crime is being reported and thousands more police officers are under threat – Labour is the only party with a plan to guarantee neighbourhood policing, by protecting over 10,000 police officers from Tory cuts in the next three years.

    The Tories are no longer the party of law and order – Labour is the only party with a plan for community safety.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2016 Comments on Brussels Terror Attack

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2016 Comments on Brussels Terror Attack

    The comments made by Jeremy Corbyn, the then Leader of the Labour Party, on 22 March 2016.

    Today, our thoughts and sympathies are with the people of Brussels.

    We stand in solidarity with the victims of these horrific attacks, their friends and families, and the men and women of the emergency services.

    We must defend our security and values in the face of such terrorist outrages, and refuse to be drawn into a cycle of violence and hatred.

    We take pride in our societies of diverse faiths, races and creeds and will not allow those who seek to divide us to succeed.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2015 Comments on Winning in 2020

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2015 Comments on Winning in 2020

    The text of the comments made by Jeremy Corbyn, the then Leader of the Labour Party, on 31 July 2015.

    Labour has many challenges to win in 2020. But the first challenge we must meet is for us as a party. We need to be united in our identity and our values – proud of what we stand for, and confident and credible that we can deliver a better society.

    To do that, we have to be a movement again. Our party was founded to stand up to injustice, but too often we have lost our way, ignored our supporters or been cowed by powerful commercial interests and the press.

    We lose our way when we don’t listen to our people and our communities. Our local parties, trade unions branches, councillors, constituency MPs and members know their communities. They know the people and the issues they face. We need strong networks in every constituency, built from the bottom up, not dictated to from the top down.

    They are the people who will deliver our message. But because we are a movement they are also creators of our message too. Their wisdom, their insight is what will ensure we have the right policies to win.

    The more we exclude our people, the weaker we are. The more we involve them, the stronger we will be. So to win, our party must draw on its greatest strength: our people.

    A movement mobilises people and the most overlooked group within the electorate is those who, at the 2015 election, didn’t vote – 34% of the electorate. They are more likely to be young, from an ethnic minority background and to be working class – as are the hundreds of thousands who are not registered to vote at all.

    These are the people who would benefit most from the sort of Labour government I know we all believe in: that stands up against discrimination, that reduces inequality and poverty, that creates a fairer society for all.

    If we had convinced just one in five of those who didn’t vote then today we might have a Labour government. And I know too that we can win back the trust and support of many of those who left us in 2015 for the Conservatives, UKIP, the Greens or SNP.

    The endorsement of my campaign by so many people and by so many of our affiliates is not an endorsement of me, but of an approach: one that stands up for our values in an inclusive, participatory and democratic way.

    Electing a leader in September 2015 won’t win us the election in May 2020. What we need to do is build a movement that involves people in setting out a shared vision for a more prosperous future for all. The election will then be ours for the taking.

    If you share that vision then join my campaign.

  • Michael Ellis – 2020 Comments on Manchester Rapist Sentence

    Michael Ellis – 2020 Comments on Manchester Rapist Sentence

    The comments made by Michael Ellis, the Solicitor General, on 7 August 2020.

    This offender’s actions have brought significant distress and psychological harm to a vulnerable victim and her family. I am pleased that the judge has agreed to increase the offender’s sentence in order to take into account the harm that he inflicted through this attack.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2020 Comments on School Transport

    Gavin Williamson – 2020 Comments on School Transport

    The comments made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 8 August 2020.

    Ahead of delivering on the national priority of all children and young people returning to full-time education in September, I am asking every staff member and student to plan now how they will get to school or college. If it is possible to walk or cycle, please do.

    While our public transport system has almost returned to full service, I know thousands of people will choose to get active and find alternative modes of transport, because with distancing measures still in place it is important that we all play our part to ensure everyone is able to get to school safely, and on time.

    For those that have no other option than public transport, this investment for local authorities will mean more students will be able to travel on dedicated home to school and college transport, creating even more capacity where it is needed most.

  • Mike Amesbury – 2020 Comments on the Developer’s Charter

    Mike Amesbury – 2020 Comments on the Developer’s Charter

    The comments made by Mike Amesbury, the Shadow Housing and Planning Minister, on 5 August 2020.

    This is a Developer’s Charter that will see communities side-lined in decisions and denied vital funding for building schools, clinics and community infrastructure.

    These proposals will only serve to blight communities with a new wave of slum housing – the Government’s own independent report even warned of the poor quality of housing built outside the planning system.

    This Government needs to build the high-quality, genuinely affordable, environmentally sustainable housing that this country desperately needs.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Mishandling of PPE Contracts

    Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Mishandling of PPE Contracts

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

    The Conservative Government failed in their duty to fully protect those working on the frontline during those crucial early months of this pandemic. It is astounding that ministers allowed the national PPE stockpile to run down and then spent millions with an offshore finance company with no history of providing vital equipment for the NHS.

    Many health and care workers experienced inadequate protection, relied on community donations and even bought their own PPE from DIY shops. Ministers repeatedly assured the country that things were fine, yet lives of health workers were lost, the infection was spread in health settings while all that time masks bought by the Government could not be used for their intended purpose.

    The case for the National Audit Office to investigate the Conservative Government’s mishandling of PPE is overwhelming and as well as apologise, ministers must urgently learn lessons to save lives in the future.

  • 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.