Jeremy Corbyn statement on the passing of Tam Dalyell

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party said:

“I’m so sad to hear of the death of my good friend and comrade Tam Dalyell. Our thoughts are with his family.

“Tam was a titan of parliamentary scrutiny, fearless in pursuit of the truth. From Iraq to the miners’ strike, he doggedly fought to expose official wrongdoing and cover ups.

“The title of his autobiography summed Tam up to a tee: ‘The Importance of Being Awkward.’

“But he was much more than that: Tam was an outstanding parliamentarian, a socialist and internationalist, and a champion of the underdog, here and abroad.”

News story: MOD partners with industry to promote UK prosperity

The MOD and Boeing are working together to build UK prosperity, growth, and exports across the country. As part of their commitment to the UK, Boeing signed the UK aerospace industry’s Supply Chain Competitiveness Charter, which is designed to strengthen relationships between companies and their suppliers, so that they work together more effectively to raise UK productivity and competitiveness.

Highlights of the joint initiative so far include:

A new commercial airline hangar to be constructed at Gatwick airport, supporting more than 100 jobs
Collaboration on a new £100m P-8A operational support and training base at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, creating more than 100 new jobs
Boeing facilitated a visit to Seattle for 37 UK suppliers to deepen their relationships with Boeing driving enhanced prosperity in the UK
Training courses for UK suppliers on how to win additional business with the company, further enhancing the competitiveness of the UK supply chain
Education partnerships with the Royal Academy of Engineering and the RAF Air Training Corps in Northern Ireland, which reached more than 5,000 young people in the UK last year

Minister Harriett Baldwin said:

Britain’s defence industry plays a key role delivering an economy that works for everyone. Across the UK, Britain’s defence companies provide highly skilled, well-paid jobs with world class manufacturing exports.

Boeing expects to increase their UK workforce by 50% by 2020. This joint initiative is a prime example of the cutting edge, high-skilled, job-creating investment that our industrial strategy seeks to harness to make Britain one of the most competitive places in the world to innovate, build businesses and deliver secure, long-term prosperity for all.

The government’s Industrial Strategy will seek to make fresh choices about how the UK shapes its economy and presents an opportunity to deliver a bold, long term Industrial Strategy that builds on strengths and prepares for the years ahead. Following a period of consultation, the government intends to publish an Industrial Strategy white paper in 2017 that will set out the plan for full and long term delivery.

Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, said:

Boeing’s partnership with the UK, which dates back to the 1930s, goes from strength to strength today. Boeing values the UK’s aerospace and defence capabilities. In both 2015 and 2016 Boeing in the UK hired, on average, a new employee per day and our relationship with the UK supply chain today has more than doubled in value since 2011.

This growth continues in 2017 and beyond, with further significant announcements to follow in the future, building on our initiative’s achievements already in place.

There is much more to come from the strategic prosperity initiative. During their meeting Minister Harriett Baldwin and Marc Allen looked ahead to the next six months of collaboration:

Boeing will increase bid opportunities for UK suppliers and work with the government to enhance UK competitiveness. The aim is for UK companies to double their supply work with Boeing and win higher proportions of content on future Boeing aircraft.
Boeing will make the UK its European base for training, maintenance, repair and overhaul across its defence fixed-wing and rotary platforms.
Boeing will make the UK a base for defence exports to Europe and the Middle East, increasing UK employment and investment.

Labour tables targeted amendments to Article 50 Bill

Today
Labour has tabled a number of targeted amendments to the Article 50 Bill (the
European Union [Notification of Withdrawal] Bill).

The
amendments seek to improve the process, and would ensure Parliament is able to
hold the Government to account throughout the Brexit negotiations.

Labour
is also tabling an anti-tax haven amendment to ensure the Prime Minister doesn’t use Brexit to weaken Britain’s laws concerning tax avoidance and evasion.

Labour
will also support two amendments drafted by Melanie Onn MP which would protect
workers’ rights and ensure there is no drop in employment protection after the
UK leaves the EU.

Labour’s
amendments will:

i)
Allow a meaningful vote in Parliament on the final Brexit deal. Labour’s
amendment would ensure that the House of Commons has the first say on any
proposed deal and that the consent of Parliament would be required before
the deal is referred to the European Council and Parliament.

ii)
Establish a number of key principles the Government must seek to negotiate
during the process, including protecting workers’ rights, securing full
tariff and impediment free access to the Single Market.

iii)
Ensure there is robust and regular Parliamentary scrutiny by requiring the
Secretary of State to report to the House at least every two months on
the progress being made on negotiations throughout the Brexit process

iv)
Guarantee legal rights for EU nationals living in the UK. Labour has
repeatedly called for the Government to take this step, and this amendment
would ensure EU citizens’ rights are not part of the Brexit negotiations.

v)
Require the Government to consult regularly with the governments in Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout Brexit negotiations. Labour’s
amendment would put the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) on a statutory
footing and require the UK Government to consult the JMC at least every two
months.

vi)
Require the Government to publish impact assessments conducted since the
referendum of any new proposed trading relationship with the EU. This amendment
seeks to ensure there is much greater clarity on the likely impact of the
Government’s decision to exit the Single Market and seek new relationship
with the Customs Union

vii)
Ensure
the Government must seek to retain all existing EU tax avoidance and evasion
measures post-Brexit

Jeremy
Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Labour
will seek to amend the Article 50 Bill to prevent the Government using Brexit
to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven off the coast of Europe. Our
country can do much better than that.

“We
respect the will of the British people, but not the will of this Tory
government to impose fewer rights at work and worse public services, while the
largest corporations pay even less tax.

“Labour
will ensure that the British people, through Parliament, have genuine
accountability and oversight over the Brexit negotiations because no one voted
to give Prime Minister Theresa May a free hand over our future.”

Keir
Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, said:

“Now
that Parliament has the right to trigger Article 50, we need to ensure there is
proper grip and accountability built into the process.

“Labour’s
amendments will also seek to ensure the Prime Minister secures the best deal
for the whole country – including tariff and impediment free access to the
Single Market and that there is no drop in workers’ rights.

“Labour’s
amendments will significantly improve the Government’s Bill – in particular by
ensuring the House of Commons has the first say on the final Brexit deal and
that there are regular opportunities to hold the Government to account.

“The
Article 50 Bill will be the start, not the end of the Brexit process and Labour
will hold the Government to account all the way”

Melanie
Onn MP,
who has tabled two amendments with Frontbench support on workers’ rights said:

“The
Tories can’t be allowed to use Brexit as an excuse to water-down people’s
rights at work.

“That’s
why I am introducing amendments to protect in British law all workers’ rights
which originate from the EU, including maternity pay, equal rights for agency
and part-time workers, and the working time directive.

“The
British people voted to leave the EU, but I don’t think anyone was voting for
more insecure contracts or a less safe workplace.”

A simple and important Bill

A BILL TO

Confer power on the Prime Minister to notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU.

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Power to notify withdrawal from the EU

(1) The Prime Minister may notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU.

(2) This section has effect despite any provision made by or under the European Communities Act 1972 or any other enactment.

2 Short title

This Act may be cited as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017.

China punishes damage of cultural heritages

Chinese government has punished the acts of damaging important cultural heritages or revolutionary site in three cases.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage on Thursday made public the cases, one of them involving the damage of more than 100 ancient tombs dating back to more than 1,500 years ago in central China’s Henan Province.

Another case in the same province involved illegal dismantling of some commercial and civil residence sites which could date back to the late Qing Dynasty.

The third case was about dismantling of a site in Hubei where a negotiation between the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang took place.

The administration said in a statement that people responsible for the violations have either been held for further investigation or received due punishments.