Tag: Speeches

Jim McMahon – 2021 Letter to Grant Shapps on the Aviation Industry

The letter written by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Transport Secretary, to Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, on 9 July 2021.

Dear Grant,

I am writing to you after your media appearances this morning, when you spoke of the challenges passengers would face going aboard this summer.

On BBC Breakfast, you said:

“The real backlog will be from the place you’re coming from” and that “People should expect more disruption than usual”

While it’s right to manage expectations, Government ministers are not merely commentators on the situation – they are empowered to seek to address problems they foresee.

The unlock date is still 10 days away. Ministers should be actively working with the industry and major UK tourist destination airports to create a process that is both safe, appropriate but also workable.

So can I ask you whether you have met or spoken with every airline that flies into the UK from a Green or Amber list country, to talk them through the new processes and ensure that their staff will know how operate this new system as speedily as possible?

Is the Government confident that all airlines flying from these destinations can read the UK’s NHS app and understand when to allow a traveller on board or when not to? Would these challenges not highlight the need for an international vaccine passport, or at least international agreement on how a Covid passport might work?

As I asked you yesterday, whilst we have our own Covid passport via the NHS app there have been issues with other countries accepting this as sufficient proof entering into those countries. Do you know how many countries now accept the Covid passport of the NHS app as proof of someone’s Covid or vaccine status?

Finally, you noted in your BBC interview that more UK Border Force staff will be stationed at UK airports to deal with the expecting increase in traveller numbers. How many more officers will there be and what is your target time for how long will a traveller should expect to have to wait to go through a major UK airport such as Heathrow?

Yours sincerely,

Jim

July 10, 2021
Jo Stevens – 2021 Comments on Robbie Gibb

The comments made by Jo Stevens, the Shadow Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, on 10 July 2021.

These allegations raise very serious questions about Conservative cronyism at the heart of the BBC.

If Robbie Gibb is in post to further Tory interests rather than the public interest, then he is in the wrong job.

Oliver Dowden must join the calls for him to resign or the BBC must sack him immediately for the sake of its own integrity.

July 10, 2021
Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on Covid Passports for Pubs

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Health Secretary, on 10 July 2021.

The NHS is in crisis as Covid admissions climb, cancer treatments delayed, waiting times increase and pressures intensify.

Sajid Javid has no plan to support NHS staff through the summer. Their only response is to talk about removing the batteries from the smoke alarm by watering down the NHS app and looking at ID cards for pubs.

Boris Johnson’s recklessness in throwing all caution to the wind is creating a summer of chaos.

July 10, 2021
Lisa Nandy – 2021 Comments on Srebrenica Memorial Day

The comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 10 July 2021.

On Srebrenica Memorial Day, we remember the thousands who lost their lives and the survivors whose stories continue to serve as a reminder of the horrors they faced.

As we pay tribute to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, we are reminded that we continue to live in a world scarred by intolerance, persecution and inhumanity. This year’s Srebrenica Memorial Day should be a moment when we remember the horrors of the past and commit ourselves to building a world that is more inclusive, more generous, more tolerant and more just.

July 10, 2021
Vicky Ford – 2021 Comments on Breakfast Clubs

The comments made by Vicky Ford, the Children and Families Minister, on 9 July 2021.

The National School Breakfast Programme is a fantastic scheme, helping some of the most disadvantaged children across the country kick start their day with a good, healthy meal, which can be so important in helping their concentration and behaviour during the school day.

Family Action will lead this delivery in schools, backed by our £24 million investment, meaning hundreds of thousands of children can benefit from breakfast clubs over the next two years – I encourage all eligible schools to sign up.

July 9, 2021
Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on Latest GDP Figures

The comments made by Bridget Phillipson on 9 July 2021.

After causing the UK to experience the worst economic crisis in the G7, the Conservatives should be getting the economy powering on all cylinders. Instead, this morning’s growth data shows how fragile the UK’s economic recovery is.

Instead of the Conservatives’ failure to secure the recovery, Labour’s plan to buy, make and sell more in Britain would mean seizing new opportunities to shape a new future for Britain. This would give people new skills and jobs here in the UK, bring security and resilience back to our economy and public services and help our high streets to thrive again.

July 9, 2021
Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Financial Shortfalls in Local Government

The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, on 9 July 2021.

Councils were already reeling from a decade of cuts to their budgets but Ministers’ broken promises to fund local authorities for the costs of the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed them towards the brink.

Councils across England are already being forced to cut the very staff we clapped at the start of the pandemic and reduce the crucial services our communities rely on.

The Conservatives need to keep their promise to reimburse councils fully for the cost of keeping communities safe during the pandemic.

July 9, 2021
Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on the Armed Forces Bill

The comments made by Stephen Morgan, the Shadow Armed Forces Minister, on 9 July 2021.

The Government’s Armed Forces Bill is too narrow and too weak. Its provisions do not apply to government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, and its narrow focus on housing, health care and education, risks creating a ‘two-tier’ Armed Forces Covenant that begins a race to the bottom on standards in those areas left out.

Labour has tabled a series of amendments to the Bill to widen its scope. We will work with MPs of all parties to make sure the government keeps its promises to service personnel, veterans and their families.

July 9, 2021
Justin Madders – 2021 Comments on Reducing Sensitivity of Track and Trace App

The comments made by Justin Madders, the Shadow Health Minister, on 9 July 2021.

It is hard to square this plan with the more transmissible Delta variant, now is not the time to be taking the batteries out of the smoke alarm.

We need clear messages from Ministers about how contact tracing will work once more people are vaccinated – not mixed messages that suggest they just want more people to avoid being traced.

With predictions of 100,000 cases a day an effective contact tracing system will be crucial to stop cases spiralling out of control. Without one, Ministers are gambling with summer.

July 9, 2021
Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Financial Cost of Priti Patel’s Bullying

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 9 July 2021.

Taxpayers will be appalled at having to pick up the Bill for the Home Secretary’s unacceptable behaviour with £370,000 having been used to settle the case – this money could have been used on extra police officers, or tackling anti-social behaviour.

It was wrong that when Priti Patel broke the Ministerial Code, it was the Prime Minister’s independent adviser who resigned.

As usual with this Government it is one rule for them, another for everyone else.

July 9, 2021