Cat
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, responding to Phillip Hammond’s
comments at a meeting with the 1922 Committee, said:

“The
Tories have failed young people on education, housing and living standards so it’s no surprise they were rejected so overwhelmingly at the election. 

“If
Philip Hammond is looking for ideas to help young people, he could consult
Labour’s manifesto "For the Many not the Few” for policies to scrap
student fees, restore education maintenance grants, end the discrimination in
the minimum wage and increasing it to £10 an hour for everyone.“

Cat
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on
reports in the Times that the Tories are to drop plans to reduce the number of
seats in the Commons, said:  

“Despite insisting that nothing
has changed, it appears Theresa May has been forced to drop yet another
manifesto commitment because she is too weak to command the support of her
backbenchers.

“This proposal was always designed
for the Tories’ own political advantage rather than what is in the best
interests of the country.

“Labour stands ready to work with
other parties to ensure that a boundary review can go ahead in a way that
benefits our democracy, not just the Conservative Party.”

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, commenting on the
issue of back pay for sleep-in shifts by care staff, said:

“There has still been
no resolution on the issue of care workers receiving back pay for
sleep-in shifts.

“The Tory Government’s
lack of action is causing great uncertainty for our social care
workforce. Tory Ministers need to ensure that care workers receive the money
they have rightfully earned. Anything less would undermine the very
principle of a statutory minimum wage and could encourage providers to
plead poverty to get out of their duty to pay their care workforce properly.

“Good pay
and conditions are essential to delivering good quality care for service
users. This Tory Government needs to stop burying its head in the sand about the
problems they have caused in social care and put the funding of social
care on a long-term sustainable footing.“

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow
Defence Secretary, responding
to the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, said:

“I welcome the publication of the
National Shipbuilding Strategy and the commitment to the long-term future for
our shipbuilding industry. But as well as investing in our naval fleet, we must
also invest in the men and women who serve in our Royal Navy.

“Despite warnings over many years,
our Navy is facing a crisis in recruitment and retention. The Government is on
course to miss its own target for the size of the Navy and we simply do not
have enough sailors to crew our naval fleet.

“Experienced personnel are leaving
the Navy because of dissatisfaction with pay and conditions. If the Government
was serious about properly resourcing our Royal Navy it would lift the public
sector pay cap and pay our servicemen and women properly.”

Tracy
Brabin MP, Labour’s Shadow Early Years Minister,
commenting on the NAHT report on school readiness, said:

“This
report should make sobering reading for Tory ministers. It is yet more evidence
of a problem that has worsened on their watch. It is now incumbent on the
government to ensure their spending on childcare goes towards high quality
early years education, supporting children to get the best start in life.

“By
contrast, the Tories’ chronically underfunded 30-free hour childcare offer has
not only left too many parents not receiving the free care they were promised
but has seen many of the most experienced and highest-rated providers walk
away from the sector entirely. Ministers should take their concerns seriously
before the childcare sector reaches a crisis point.

“A
Labour government would provide genuinely free and high-quality childcare, with
all parents of 2-4 year olds entitled to 30 hours, and the investment needed to
deliver it in practice. We would also reverse the Tory cuts to Sure Start,
which the evidence showed was a highly effective programme in supporting
children to be school ready.”