Labour has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech, which will
be the first vote of the new Parliament, when voted on tomorrow (Wednesday),
and a test case for MPs’ approach to austerity.

After seven years of austerity, the amendment seeks to force the
government to end cuts to the police and fire service and lift the Public
Sector Pay Cap to give emergency and public service workers a pay rise.

Commenting on the amendment, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour
Party, said:

“You can’t have safety and security on the cheap. It is plain to
see that seven years of cuts to our emergency services has made us less safe;
it’s time to make a change.

“Our emergency service workers make us proud at the worst of times
for our country, such as the Grenfell Tower Fire and the recent terrorist
attacks, and deserve the pay rise they have been denied for seven years.

“Conservative cuts have failed. Labour has a different approach,
which values those who look after us and will transform Britain for the many
not the few.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the ONS persistent poverty figures, said:

“This persistent poverty data from the Office of National Statistics
shows you can’t trust the Conservative lie that poverty only affects a small,
fixed group in our society.

“The high poverty rate of nearly 17 percent combined with the lower
persistent poverty rate in this data shows that poverty can affect us all at
different times in our life.

“We therefore desperately need a social security system which, like the
NHS, is there for us all in our time of need.”

Ends

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, commenting on reports that 95 cladding samples from high-rise
residential buildings have failed a combustibility test, said:

“These results point to a collapse in our system of fire safety checks
and controls.

“Ministers must now do a great deal more to reassure residents that
everything is being done to keep them safe.

“They must improve the testing process which has so far been too slow,
too narrow and too secretive. The Prime Minister promised that 100 tests a day
could be done but two weeks on from the Grenfell Tower fire only 95 have been
completed.

“Ministers must also not outsource all responsibility for urgent
remedial action to councils and housing associations. They must guarantee that
where fire risks are found they will make available upfront funding, including
for re-cladding buildings, fire prevention work and retro-fitting sprinkler
systems, starting with the highest-risk blocks.”

Ends

Notes 

·        
It is being reported that all 95 samples of
exterior cladding from high-rise residential buildings so far tested have
failed a combustibility test being conducted for the government by the Building
and Research Establishment in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

·        
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government Sajid Javid MP confirmed to John Healey yesterday in the House of
Commons that only the exterior cladding on buildings was being tested: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-06-26/debates/02718B34-06C3-4984-9C4C-EAB30F2F0026/GrenfellTowerFireFireSafety#contribution-4320C1F4-1592-483E-8CD5-5FE8B7A9B0C9

·        
The Prime Minister has previously said that
capacity was available to test 100 buildings a day: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-commons-statement-on-grenfell-tower-22-june-2017.
There are an estimated 600 buildings that may be at risk as a result of similar
cladding to that in place at Grenfell Tower.  

·        
John Healey and other Labour MPs put a serious of
questions on support, checks, funding, and overhaul of fire and building safety
rules to Sajid Javid yesterday in the Commons which remain unanswered. John
Healey’s speech yesterday is here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-06-26/debates/02718B34-06C3-4984-9C4C-EAB30F2F0026/GrenfellTowerFireFireSafety#contribution-1DBB53D7-BCD8-480B-A93A-98F93B78E551

Research from Labour, in consultation with the respected House of
Commons Library, suggests that if the Tories’ sweetheart deal with the DUP
goes ahead and rises as is rumoured to £2 billion, then it could mean that
£68 billion in government funding being denied to the rest of the UK.

Under the Barnett Formula an increase of £2 billion in funding for
Northern Ireland would normally imply additional public expenditure in England
of £59 billion, with Scotland getting an additional £6 billion and Wales
£3 billion. 

However, following such a drastic change in extra
budgetary spending for Northern Ireland, the Conservatives have
decided to not adopt an approach even similar to the Barnett Formula to
increase funding across the board. Nor have they explained if this
increase will be funded by borrowing, tax rises or spending cuts at the UK
level.

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said:

“The coalition of chaos that was set up yesterday risks
increasing division in our society by easing austerity in one part of the UK
alone.

“We need to see an end to austerity throughout the UK not just in
Northern Ireland, and not just to prop up Theresa May and her failed
government.

“Labour’s fully costed alternative programme of government stands
ready to provide Britain with the leadership that will truly end austerity, and
unite all nations and regions in our country.” 

Tom Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport, commenting on Google’s record fine for its shopping
service, said:

“This ruling has been a long time coming and is a vindication of long
running concerns about Google’s anti-competitive, unfair practices.

“When a company wields such power that it is effectively the gateway to
the internet, it is the duty of regulators and lawmakers to verify that power
is being exercised fairly. This ruling makes clear that Google shopping has not
been operating fairly and could open the door to other investigations of
similar examples of market distortion by the company.  

“This ruling rights an unfair wrong, making this a good day for fair
competition and consumers.”

Ends

Notes

·         Today the European Commission has handed Google a record fine of 2.42bn
euros ($2.7bn; £2.1bn) after it ruled the company had abused its power by
promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of search results.

·         Google’s unfair advantage has been a source of long running concern with
Tom Watson writing about the issue in 2013 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/14/google-competition-searching-solution