John McDonnell’s speech to May Day rally at Trafalgar Square

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow chancellor, speaking at the May Day rally in
Trafalgar Square today, will say:

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AGAINST DELIVERY**

I want to
thank you all for letting me speak here today.

There are
those in the Tory press who will wish to paint this gathering in a negative
light, but this rally on a day like today is really about the positive
contribution many hardworking people in our country make.

And how
we can protect them, for the future of our country depends upon it.

Our
country is divided following the Brexit vote last year. And the Tories seek to
divide it further.

Today’s
deeply worrying revelations on the reckless handling of the EU
negotiations only act as further proof for why we need a Labour Government
leading the negotiations with our European allies to ensure jobs and
living standards are protected.

Not a
Tory Party prepared to take our country over a cliff-edge.

This
Government is not just in another galaxy when it comes to Brexit but also when
it comes to solving the problems the silent majority of working families face
in our country.

Therefore,
it falls once again to our movement to come together and unite our country, and
stand up for the many suffering under a Tory Government that only
rewards a rich few.

That is
why it is vital this remains a peaceful protest, so as not to give our enemies
in the Tory press the ammunition they need to misrepresent our peaceful
intentions and goals to the public.

Today’s
May Day rally must be remembered for its purpose – to focus all our minds on
removing a Tory Government.

And it
falls on each and every one of us to be upbeat and take that peaceful positive
vision of a Britain reborn on the 9th of June to each and every doorstep over
the next few weeks.

But it is
not protest alone that changes these things. Changing government policy is the
ultimate aim. 

And
changing this Government in its entirety is our ultimate goal right now.

Yesterday,
I announced Labour’s 20 point plan to transform our workplaces from the
shop-floor right up to the boardroom.

Today,
Jeremy Corbyn announced Labour’s plans to reform the housing market, to give
renters the protections they desperately need.

But we
can only achieve those goals if all of us here today take this passion out into
the communities in our country, win the arguments on the doorsteps, and in our
family and friendship groups, to get a Labour Government elected next month.

Today may
be the 1st May, but let’s make June 8th the last day of Theresa May and her
Tory Government.

And it is
vital we do this.

As this
is a Tory Government that has presided over a country in which our nurses have
to rely on foodbanks, yes that’s right. Nurses, the heroes of our NHS.
Abandoned by this Government.

And all
this Tory Prime Minister can say about it is there are “complex” reasons.

It just
shows how out of touch and how little she and her party really care about the
problems facing hardworking people in our country.

The
reasons why people use foodbanks are not complex – they use them because they
are hungry and cannot afford to feed themselves. 

And many
of them are in that position because of seven wasted years of Tory economic
failure.

That’s
why we need a Labour Government that will stand up for the many, and not the
few.

We are
all here today to speak up for the silent majority of working people that have
never met an opinion pollster, but have experienced seven years of Tory
austerity, and are now more than ever feeling the pinch of those policies.

The
nurses using foodbanks.

The
teachers holding raffles to afford books for their pupils.

The
people sleeping rough on our streets, homeless without somewhere to sleep
tonight.

The
parents who are worried about paying the bills as their wages can’t keep up
with the prices in the shops, and worry about keeping a roof over their
children’s heads.

Or those
people who just want to get on the propriety ladder and get on in life,
but cannot afford a mortgage. Their aspirations are risked by a reckless Tory
Brexit and what it means for our economy.

This is
what we mean by the Tories’ rigged economy. And why we must end it.

Because
those families struggling to get by – something this Prime Minister will never
understand – need a Labour Government to put fairness at the heart of our economy
again.

That is
why we are here, united to stand up for the silent majority of working people
in our country.

But it
cannot remain silent and will not remain silent for very long.

That is
why all of us here today need to make sure that our voices are heard, and that
when we leave, we persuade as many people as we can to get out and vote next
month.

As
nothing is a certainty.

We can
change this country.

Right
now, there are six million people earning less than the living wage in our
country, and four million children set to grow up in poverty.

But they
do not have to be in this position. 

We can
change this, and we will.

And all
we have to do is change the Government by getting as many people as possible to
vote Labour on the 8^th of June.

This will
be the biggest political battle we have ever known. 

But
remember we are fighting for the future of our country.

The
choice is a Tory future in which nurses use foodbanks, and millions live in
poverty and low pay.

Or a
Labour future for the many, with a high wage, high skill, fair economy of the
future.

Put
simply, it is a choice between a Labour Government that stands up for the
interests of the many in our country, not a Tory Government that only stands up
for a rich few. 

So let’s
go out there, and let’s win this fight.

Solidarity.