Lib Dems announce £17bn fund to fix schools and hospitals

Headteachers today are forced to use money that should be dedicated for books, teachers and equipment to fix leaking roofs and crumbling buildings. The new infrastructure fund would give an extra £7bn for schools in England, enough to repair every school to allow them to focus spending on education rather than maintenance.

Another £10bn would be allocated to hospitals over the lifetime of the next parliament, helping address a £5bn delayed backlog in delayed repairs to NHS buildings and infrastructure. This investment would help transform the NHS – repairing run-down hospitals, bringing them up to date with modern technology and building new infrastructure to reduce overcrowding. It would contrast with the £350m for the Conservatives committed to repairs in the NHS in 2015-2016.

NHS and education plans

The infrastructure fund would be in addition to the extra £7bn the Liberal Democrats have committed to invest in schools over the next parliament; and the £6bn more a year the party would invest in NHS and social care.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Sarah Olney said: “Under Theresa May’s Conservatives, our children are being taught in crumbling schools and our sick and elderly are being cared for in overcrowded hospitals.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. We will invest an additional £7bn in our schools, enough to repair every school in the country.

“This will allow school budgets to be spent on books, teachers and equipment instead of being diverted to fix leaking roofs.

“This week, you can elect Liberal Democrat MPs who will stand up for you on the NHS, schools and Brexit.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said: “We have seen with the recent cyber-attack how inadequate the existing infrastructure is for many hospitals.

“Under the Conservatives, money that is intended for capital investment is being diverted to plug holes in day-to-day spending. This cannot be allowed to go on.

“We will invest an additional £10bn of capital spending in the NHS to fix our run-down hospitals, reduce overcrowding and build a modernise our health service.

“This is on top of the £6bn a year for the NHS and care we would raise by putting a penny on income tax.”



Jeremy Corbyn to address six simultaneous rallies across the UK to put forward Labour’s plan to transform Britain for the many, not the few

Labour is today taking its message to
voters from all corners of the country by hosting six simultaneous rallies,
showing we truly are the party for the many and not the few.

The rallies, which are due to take
place this evening from 7pm in: Barry (Wales), Birmingham, Brighton, Glasgow,
London and Warrington, will bring people
together and show there is strong support for an
alternative to the seven lost years of Tory
rule.

Jeremy Corbyn, set to attend the
Birmingham rally, will simultaneously appear via satellite link at the five
other events to deliver his message that only a Labour Government will deliver
a fairer Britain that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. 

Those coming to lend their support
include members of Labour’s Shadow Cabinet, big name electronic acts Clean
Bandit and DJ Floating Points, celebrity supporters Steve Coogan, Ben Elton and
Maxine Peake, and chart toppers Wolf Alice and Reverend and the Makers.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour
Party said:

“Since the election was called,
we have taken Labour’s message of hope to towns and
cities across the UK. Tonight, we will speak to tens of thousands of
people across the country about the clear choice facing the British
people during this election.

"While the Conservatives promise
five more years of a country run for the super-rich and cuts for everyone
else, Labour will transform Britain by
investing in infrastructure and new industries and rebuilding the NHS and our
public services.

“Labour will abolish tuition fees to give everyone
a chance to fulfil their potential and create a fairer Britain by introducing a £10 an hour minimum wage, banning zero hours
contracts, protecting winter fuel payments and safeguarding state pensions through the triple lock.

"On Thursday, the British people
will go to the polls and have the chance to vote for a government that will
transform our country for the many, not the few.”



These figures are deeply worrying, and are further proof that seven years of Tory austerity has resulted in abject failure – John McDonnell

John
McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the
latest retail figures from the British Retail Consortium showing a slowdown in
sales, said:

“These
figures are deeply worrying, and are further proof that seven years of Tory
austerity has resulted in abject failure. Wages are still lower than they were
in 2010. The Tories have no plan to tackle the fact that prices are rising
faster than wages. This is leading to living standards
being squeezed and working families being hit the hardest, with the impact now
reaching the high street.

“Growth is
slowing, retail sales are down, business investment and wages are falling back.
Under the Conservatives the economy is neither strong nor stable. And a
vote for the Tories on Thursday is a vote for more of the same, and no solution
to the problems their economic policies are clearly creating for our economy,
and working households.

“Only a Labour Government will
take the action needed to end the Tories’ economic failure by introducing
a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour, and by investing
in an economy that works for the many, while the
Tories are only prepared to protect big business and a wealthy few.”



Paddy Ashdown launches Theresa May “flip flop” poster

Launching the poster across social networks, Paddy Ashdown said:

“In her brief tenure as Prime Minister, and particularly during the car crash of a general election campaign, Theresa May has been shown to be one of the least consistent and weakest of modern day Prime Ministers. She has flip flopped on Europe having campaigned to remain and now pushing for an extreme Brexit, as she has on raising National Insurance for the self-employed and most recently on whether to have a cap in her disastrous manifesto commitment on the Dementia Tax. As we approach this monumentally important election, there has never been a greater need for Liberal Democrats in parliament.’



Pressemitteilung: EU-Prüfer untersuchen Hilfen für die Türkei

Download PDF