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Tag: Speeches

  • Jim McMahon – 2021 Comments on Covid-19 at the DVLA in Swansea

    Jim McMahon – 2021 Comments on Covid-19 at the DVLA in Swansea

    The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Transport Secretary, on 23 January 2021.

    It should be a source of shame for ministers that a government office has effectively become a Covid-19 superspreader, putting lives and livelihoods at risk.

    Allegations that employees were coerced into turning off test and trace apps and given warnings for taking time off sick must be investigated fully.

    The Transport Secretary must now come to the House to explain why he ignored warnings about this, and how a government agency appears to have become the site of the largest workplace outbreak of the virus.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2021 Comments on G7 and Covid-19

    Lisa Nandy – 2021 Comments on G7 and Covid-19

    The comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 23 January 2021.

    Labour has always recognised that if we are to defeat the virus anywhere, we must defeat it everywhere. If our economy is to recover fully, we cannot always be looking over our shoulder for new variants coming from overseas.

    The Government must use its chairing of the G7 to lead global efforts for a virus mutation monitor that prioritises cooperation, safeguards vaccines and prevents future threats.

    We cannot see a repeat of the dither and delay that has characterised the Government’s response to this crisis, not least at the border where the country was left unguarded against migration of the virus.

  • Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Council Tax Rises

    Steve Reed – 2021 Comments on Council Tax Rises

    The comments made by Steve Reed, the Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, on 24 January 2021.

    The Prime Minister’s £2 billion council tax bombshell will hit many hard-pressed families at the worst possible time – just as many receive their p45s. This Government should not be making families pay the price for their broken promises to support councils.

    The Prime Minister must scrap this economically illiterate council tax rise – and if he doesn’t, Conservative MPs need to do the right thing and vote with Labour to protect families’ incomes and help secure our economy.

  • Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on Longer Working Weeks

    Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on Longer Working Weeks

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 24 January 2021.

    The 48-hour week is a vital right for workers. Scrapping this hard-won protection would be the thin end of the wedge, causing working hours to spiral up, risking safety and wellbeing, and meaning many people could have less time to spend with their families.

    The future of this right should not even be up for discussion. That Ministers are clapping key workers on the front step and considering forcing a longer working week on them via the back door, shows how seriously out of step their priorities are with those of the British people.

    The Government is also failing to listen to businesses who are urging them to tackle the virus, secure the economy and protect jobs – not take a wrecking ball to the rights of working people. Conservative MPs must keep their promises and vote today in line with the needs of workers and businesses – not rip up their protections.

  • Conor McGinn – 2021 Comments on De-radicalisation in Prisons

    Conor McGinn – 2021 Comments on De-radicalisation in Prisons

    The comments made by Conor McGinn, the Shadow Security Minister, on 25 January 2021.

    With growing concerns about the links between extremists in prison and terrorists who have carried out attacks on the outside, it’s clear that the Government is failing at de-radicalisation in prisons.

    Ministers need to announce a coherent de-radicalization strategy in prisons, as well as urgently assessing how to protect the public from those who continue to pose a dangerous security threat despite being behind bars.

  • Lucy Powell – 2021 Comments on Debenhams

    Lucy Powell – 2021 Comments on Debenhams

    The comments made by Lucy Powell, the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, on 25 January 2021.

    Seeing stores vanish from high streets across Britain will be a real blow to communities across our country, and it will be absolutely devastating for the 25,000 people who face losing their job. The pandemic has accelerated changes to the way we shop, yet the government continues to disadvantage bricks and mortar businesses against online companies.

    The support on offer for struggling businesses has been a series of sticking plasters. Unless the Government puts in place a long-term plan to help high street businesses survive this crisis and recover on the other side, we will see more well-loved high street names vanishing, and many more jobs lost.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Wider Controls of the Border

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Wider Controls of the Border

    The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 25 January 2021.

    The Conservative government are again dragging their feet on setting vital protections at our borders, which must involve using hotels to help prevent the importation of further strains of the virus.

    Labour has been calling for a strategic approach to tackling this awful virus and the worrying strains that are now emerging. The lack of strategy means the UK continually acts too slowly and without proper planning in place.

    This continued failure is leaving the door open to new strains of Covid, putting people at risk and undermining the sacrifices everyone is making to address this virus.

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Conduct of Shaun Bailey

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Conduct of Shaun Bailey

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 25 January 2021.

    The Tory Mayoral candidate has been caught out repeatedly attempting to mislead Londoners. He seems determined to insult voters’ intelligence by bringing discredited Donald Trump style fake news to London.

    He has consistently misled over TfL finances, the congestion charge and council tax, and his latest leaflets are literally a work of fiction. Fake news, fake polls and fake leaflets will not only reflect badly on him and the Conservative Party but erode trust in politics.

    The Conservative Party must immediately apologise for the actions of their London Mayoral campaign and demonstrate that they are committed to following the law.

  • Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on Increased Mastercard Fees Following Brexit

    Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on Increased Mastercard Fees Following Brexit

    The comments made by Pat McFadden, the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, on 25 January 2021.

    The Government badly fumbled its preparations for the end of the transition period. Thanks to their last-minute approach we’ve already seen disruption at our ports and British businesses hit by new costs and taxes affecting their orders. These businesses should be at the heart of our recovery, not tied up in red tape.

    Now more unexpected costs have been revealed as online shoppers from the UK face being hit with extra charges when buying from the EU. Ministers have got to get a grip on the situation, and urge MasterCard to scrap these unfair changes – to stop British shoppers from losing out.

    This is the latest addition to a growing pile of costs and red tape for UK consumers. We’ve already seen delays at ports and a forest of extra form filling for exporters. This is a long way from what the Government promised.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Adaptation Action Coalition

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Adaptation Action Coalition

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 25 January 2021.

    It is undeniable that climate change is already upon us and is already devastating lives and economies. We must adapt to our changing climate, and we must do so now.

    I’ll be making the need for a resilient recovery a priority of the UK’s G7 presidency this year. To make sure we get not just warm words but real change, I am today launching an all-new Adaptation Action Coalition to set the agenda ahead of COP26.

    Let’s work together to adapt, to become more resilient, and to save lives and livelihoods all around the world.