It is clear the Tories want the rest of us to pay for their mistakes – McDonnell

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the ONS Public Sector Finances figures which show that the national debt has gone up by  £123.5 billion since March 2016 under the Tories, said:

“After seven wasted years of Tory economic failure, supported by both Philip Hammond and Theresa May, the deficit has not been cleared as they promised, and the national debt continues to rise.

“The Tories promised when they were first elected that they would have balanced the books by 2015, but now they cannot promise to do it by 2020, and instead the past year has seen both borrowing and debt has increased.

"Today’s figures reveal that the national debt has gone up by £123 billion since March last year, and with a Tory Chancellor who won’t rule out raising taxes on low and middle earners, and has no plan to deal with inflation rising ahead of earnings, it is clear the Tories want the rest of us to pay for their mistakes.

"Yet despite their broken promises on the public finances they continue to hand out tens of billions in tax giveaways to the super-rich and big corporations, while enforcing spending cuts on everyone else; underfunding our NHS and leaving our care system in crisis for the most vulnerable.

"Only a Labour government will have a serious plan for the public finances with strategic investment underpinned by our Fiscal Credibility Rule, so that we stand up for the many, not the few.”




Keir Starmer speech on Labour’s approach to Brexit

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Keir
Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union,
setting out
Labour’s approach to Brexit, will say:

At
this election there will be a very clear choice on the ballot paper.

A
choice of two visions of Brexit.

Labour’s
approach to Brexit will be based on our values: internationalist. Outward
looking. A belief that we achieve more together than we do alone.

We
accept that outside the EU our relationship with Europe must change.

But
we do not accept that Brexit has to mean whatever Theresa May says it means. We
do not accept that there has to be a reckless Tory Brexit. We do not believe
that if you’re a citizen of the world, you’re a citizen of nowhere.

We
recognise that immigration rules will have to change as we exit the EU, but we
do not believe that immigration should be the overarching priority. We do not
believe that leaving the EU means severing our ties with Europe. We do not
believe that Brexit means weakening workers’ rights and environmental
protections or slashing corporate tax rates.

Labour
believe in a very different vision of how Brexit can work for Britain and the
EU.

We
believe in building a new relationship with the EU – not as members but as
partners. Where jobs, the economy and retaining the benefits of the Single
Market and the Customs Union are our priority. Where hard-fought workplace
rights and the environment are protected. Where we are an open, outward looking
country. Where EU nationals living here are guaranteed their rights and can
live in certainty that Brexit will not affect them.

A Brexit that brings the country together, radically devolves power and
supports all regions and nations of the UK.

That’s
the approach to Brexit I will set out today.

 A Labour Government would reset the Tories failing approach to Brexit.

We
will scrap the Government’s Brexit White Paper and replace it with fresh
negotiating priorities that reflect Labour values and our six tests.

Labour’s
White Paper will have a strong emphasis on retaining the benefits of the Single
Market and the Customs Union as we know that is vital to protecting jobs and
the economy.

Our White Paper will make clear that jobs
and the economy are Labour’s priority throughout – whereas the Conservatives
are willing to put this at risk.

That means we
will seek: continued tariff-free trade between the UK and the EU, no new
non-tariff burdens for business, regulatory alignment and continued
competitiveness for goods and services.

Whether this is
best achieved through reformed membership of the Single Market and the Customs
Union or via a bespoke trading arrangement is secondary to the outcome. What
matters for jobs, the economy and living standards is that we retain the
benefits of the Single Market and the Customs Union.

And rather than
focusing on hypothetical new trade deals with other countries, Labour will
focus above all else on securing strong trading arrangements with the EU. After
all, the EU accounts for 44 percent of our exports and is by far and away our
most important trading partner.

It is
extraordinary that we have a Prime Minister who has given up on the Single
Market and the Customs Union even before negotiations have begun, but is so
willing to talk up the chance of there being no deal reached.

Theresa May has
said that no deal is better than a bad deal. Boris Johnson has said no deal is
no problem. Labour are very clear that no deal is the worst possible deal.

It would cause huge damage to British businesses and trade, including
likely tariffs of 30-40
percent on dairy and meat producers, 10 percent tariffs on cars and a loss of
passporting rights for financial services. No wonder the CBI have called it a
‘recipe for chaos’.

A Labour approach
to Brexit means ending this reckless approach.

It means making
clear to our EU partners that we will seek to negotiate
strong transitional arrangements as we leave the EU and to ensure there is no
cliff-edge for the UK economy.

It means rejecting no deal as a viable option – a move that will give
greater certainty for investors, workers and businesses.

We
will also approach negotiations in a completely different way to the Tories.

Where
Theresa May wants to shut down scrutiny and challenge, Labour will welcome it.
We will work with Parliament, not against it.

Because
on an issue of this importance the Government can’t hide from the public or
Parliament.

A
Labour approach to Brexit means legislating to guarantee that Parliament has a
truly meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal.

It
means regular reporting back to Parliament on progress in negotiations and it
means working with the devolved administrations to reflect specific and
particular concerns.

A
Labour approach also means rebuilding relations with our EU partners, because
striking a good deal for Britain relies on having alliances across Europe.

We
will make clear that we will seek to build a close, collaborative future
relationship with the EU.

Not
as members, but as partners.

This will involve continued cooperation in a whole range of areas from
counter-terrorism to higher education; culture to climate change.

So a Labour
Government will seek to remain part of the Erasmus scheme so that British
students have the same cultural and educational opportunities after we leave
the EU.

We will ensure
the UK maintains our leading research role by staying part of Horizon 2020 and
its successor programmes, and by welcoming research staff from the EU.

We will seek to
maintain membership of or equivalent relations with European organisations
which offer benefits to the UK, such as Euratom, the European Medicines Agency,
Europol and Eurojust – two agencies I worked closely with as DPP.

A Labour approach
to Brexit means rejecting Theresa May’s argument that as we leave the EU, we
must also sever links that have served the EU and the UK well for decades.

A Labour
Government will also mean a new approach to how we treat EU nationals in the
UK.

It is shameful that the Prime Minister rejected
repeated attempts by Labour to resolve this before Article 50 was triggered. As
a result, 3 million EU nationals have suffered unnecessary uncertainty, as well
as the 1.2 million UK citizens living in the EU.

EU nationals do not just contribute to our society:
they are our society. And they should not be used as bargaining chips.

So on day one of a Labour Government we will immediately guarantee that all EU nationals currently living in
the UK will see no change in their legal status as a result of Brexit, and we
will seek reciprocal measures for UK citizens in the EU.

There could be no
clearer signal that Britain is taking a new approach to Brexit than a Labour
Government immediately rectifying this injustice. And there could no clearer
signal that Labour want a close and collaborative future relationship with our
EU partners.

So I can assure
you today that policy will be in Labour’s manifesto.

And we will also
set out in further detail how we will reset Britain’s approach to Brexit and
prevent a reckless Tory Brexit.

Firstly, we will
drop the Tories’ Great Repeal Bill.

The EU has had a
huge impact in securing workplace protections and environmental safeguards.
That was one the main reasons Labour and trade unions campaigned to stay in the
EU.

But we all know
that for many Brexiteers in the Tory Party, this was why they wanted to Leave.

It’s why Priti
Patel – now in the Cabinet – spoke during the referendum of wanting to ‘halve
the burdens’ of ‘EU social and employment legislation’.

A Labour
Government will never consider these rights a ‘burden’ or accept the weakening
of worker’s rights, consumer rights or environmental protections.

So instead of
going ahead with the Tories’ Great Repeal Bill we will introduce new
legislation – an EU Rights and Protections Bill.

This will make
sure that all EU-derived laws – including workplace laws, consumer rights and
environmental protections – are fully protected without qualifications,
limitations or sunset clauses. We will work with trade unions, businesses and
stakeholders to ensure there is a consensus on this vital issue. 

A Labour approach
to Brexit will ensure there can be no rolling back of key rights and
protections.

And we will go
further, because protecting existing rights can never be the summit of our
ambition. A Labour Government will work with EU partners, trade unions and
businesses to ensure that, outside the EU, the UK does not lag behind Europe in
workplace protections or environmental standards in future.

We will also make
sure that there is rigorous and independent scrutiny of any new powers this
gives to the Executive, because Brexit cannot result in a power grab by
Whitehall.

This
brings me to another commitment we will have in our manifesto: a presumption
that any new powers that are transferred back from Brussels should go straight
to the relevant devolved body.

This
will apply to regional government across England, as well as to the devolved
administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This
was a proposal included by the Mayor of London in his Brexit White Paper and it
is one a Labour Government will take forward.

A
Labour approach to Brexit will be part of a radical extension of devolution,
and will help bring the country together.

A
Tory Brexit will push the country further apart and lead to a concentration of
power in Whitehall.

A
Labour approach to Brexit will also contribute to how we rebuild a fairer, more
progressive country.

The
debate over Brexit is not happening in a vacuum.

It
will be shaped by the approach the Government you elect takes to a whole range
of wider issues – security, taxation, public services, the environment and
education.

The
Tories see Brexit as a way to further their wish to deregulate the economy,
slash corporate taxes, water down workers’ rights and remove Britain from
anything and everything European.But a Labour approach to Brexit will help ensure we have a fairer society, a
strong economy, robust workplace rights, action on climate change and a more
international, outward looking nation.

We
need a Labour Government to deliver a real living wage – giving a pay rise to
over 5million people – invest in public services and tackle the crisis in
housing, the NHS and our schools.

That
choice is on the ballot paper at this election.

If
Theresa May wins another 5 years in power, she will take it as a green light to
side-line Parliament, ignore opposition and drive through a reckless Tory
Brexit.

She
will isolate us from our nearest partners and strike trade deals with any
country that will talk to us – no matter the consequences for workers’ rights,
environmental protections or our place in the world

The
only way to stop that and to build a fairer Britain is to elect a Labour
Government.

A
Labour Government who will reset our approach to Brexit, rebuild relations with
the EU and make sure that jobs, the economy and rights come first.

We have 6 weeks to make that case.

Thank
you.




Jeremy Corbyn addresses the Scottish TUC in Aviemore

Jeremy Corbyn speech to
the Scottish TUC

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Delivery**

Comrades and friends,
it’s great to be in Scotland and it’s wonderful to be here at the STUC.

The STUC has a wonderful
tradition of fighting for working people in Scotland and influencing public
policy debates on behalf of working people.

The STUC and its trade
union and trades council affiliates have been at the forefront of progress in
Scotland.

It’s the collectivism of
the trade union movement through working people fighting alongside each other
that has always been and always will be the driver of great progressive change
in Scotland in the rest of the UK and across the world.

And no more so is that
the case than the inspiring young activists involved with the Better Than Zero
campaign.  Their vibrant and engaging action is a shining example of
modern trade unionism, carrying on the historic fight in a system still rigged
against working people.

But that fight is one we
have all collectively committed to and continue to do so, because friends, it
works.  And we won’t let anyone tell us otherwise. 

It is trade unions that
have driven up wages and living standards, health and safety in the workplace,
and challenged prejudice and discrimination

And it is Unions that
have worked with ourselves in the Labour Party to transform our society, 
to offer the opportunities to our people that so many of our forefathers and
especially our foremothers unfortunately did not enjoy themselves.

They are our heroes. It
was our predecessors who suffered exploitation in the workplace and wider
society, and it was they who were not prepared to stand idly by, who instead
chose to fight back and win many of the gains that we enjoy today.

Our NHS, our social
security safety net, our education system and so much more were won on the
shoulders of these giants in the Labour and trade union movement and none of us
should ever forget that.

Friends, that’s why I
could not be at a better or more appropriate place to start our General
Election Campaign in Scotland.

We are standing for the
many not the few, and it is through our collective power in a trade union that
we ensure the many , standing together,  have the power to stand up to the
rich and powerful few.

The Labour Party will
always cherish, sustain and protect our relationship with the Trade Union
movement and the working people you represent. You are our DNA, you are our
family, and we will never, ever apologise for the closeness of our relationship
with you.

Friends just like Keir
Hardie, I am proud to be a trade unionist and I carry my card everywhere I go.

That is why one of the
very first things we will do when forming our Labour Government will be to
repeal the vicious Tory Trade Union Act. Giving working people the rights to
collectively organise and make their lives better, safer and more content.

~~~~~~~

While the timing of the
election was unexpected, the choice is clear and the stakes are high.

But let no-one be in any
doubt, we are in this election to win it and we will fight for every seat in
every corner of these isles.

I said the other day
that the dividing lines in this election could not be clearer from the outset.
It is the Conservatives, the party of privilege and the richest, versus the
Labour Party, the party that is standing up for working people to improve the
lives of all. That is the real choice.

Only Labour or the
Tories can form a Government , and I implore Scots to fight for the party of
progress, and not the vicious Tory Party, who alongside their previous
coalition partners, the Lib Dems, unleashed an unprecedented attack on working
people in this country.

The choice facing the
country at this election is clear, it’s the people versus the powerful.

Labour will challenge
the rigged system that is holding our country back.

In this election Labour
will offer hope to the nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer,
the builder, the office worker, the bus driver, the factory worker, the farm
labourer and the factory worker.

We will provide the
change and the transformative policy programme that puts power and
opportunity in people’s hands.  

We will fight this
election offering a positive vision for our country. We will present to the
British people an economic and political alternative, and a promise that we
will make our country work for the many not the few.

We will make jobs better
and more secure with a real living wage, and stronger rights at work.

We will end the public
sector pay cap that disrespects our committed public servants every day.

We will end the need for
food banks.

We will upgrade our
economy to create wealth for all our people in the 21st Century, through
investment in our infrastructure, helping our small businesses, delivering high
skill jobs and ending poverty pay.

We will never put tax
giveaways to the corporations and the wealthiest above our vital public services
like our social care system and NHS, and those engines of opportunity our
schools and colleges. We will give them the funding they need.

The Scottish people are
facing a crucial choice in this election. The Tories are trying to use Brexit
to turn Britain into a low-wage tax haven, run in the interests of the
powerful.

Labour will negotiate a
Brexit that will build on the gains won for workers, consumers and the
environment in the EU. We will put jobs, living standards and human rights
first.

Friends, this is a
General Election, it is not a referendum, and only Labour can form a
Government and offer an alternative that will transform the lives of
Scots.

The truth is that the
Tories and SNP are obsessed with their power struggles against Brussels and
Westminster, when the energy should be used to change and transform our economy
to ensure no-one and no community is left behind.

The Tories are Tories,
they will always seek to undermine, dilute or simply eliminate all the gains
that we won. That’s who they are and that’s what they do.

The Tories act for the
powerful and the powerful back them. That’s what we are up against, that’s what
our predecessors were up against, it never stopped them and it won’t stop us.

Much of the media and
establishment are saying that this election is a foregone conclusion.

They think there are
rules in politics which if you don’t follow you don’t win.

So you start doffing
your cap to powerful people accepting their parameters so nothing can really
change. Comrades, it is when you start doing that, that you really can’t win.

Our movement knows it.
It is only by us standing together as the people for the many not the powerful
few that we really win.

Friends only Labour has
the policies that will challenge these powerful interests and transform the
lives of working people.

And friends let us
remember that the only real Progressive Alliance is the Labour and Trade Union
movement working together, it always has been and always will be.

That’s why Labour is
campaigning to win every seat across the whole country.

The deal we’ll do is
with the electorate, is to be a government for the many not the few.

~~~~~~~

The truth is that the
politics and policies of Labour are needed now more than ever as our country
becomes more unfair, more unjust and more unequal.

In Scotland 260 thousand
children, 40,000 more than last year are living in poverty. Health inequalities
stubbornly persist, educational attainment differences are worsening, and the
numbers of people working but still considered to be living in poverty are at
their worse point since devolution.

That’s surely where the
focus of all politicians should be.

We will redistribute the
wealth in our society to ensure that people are paid at least a real living
wage of £10 an hour, transforming the lives of the near half a million Scots
who currently earn less than the living wage, wiping out at a stroke the concept
of ‘working poor’.

We will protect
pensioner incomes, by legislating to keep the Triple-Lock on state pensions,
protecting the pensions of over 1 million Scottish pensioners, 
guaranteeing them a basic income necessary to live a dignified life in
retirement.

Only Labour will protect
pensions.

We will make sure public
spending will be used to force a change for good in working and environmental
conditions, equal opportunities and fair pay.

We will put conditions
on the massive public spending budget with private business to ensure no
company wins a public contract if they avoid or evade taxes don’t pay their
local suppliers on time or don’t recognise trade unions.

This will benefit
Scottish workers and Scottish small businesses currently contracted by the UK
Government to the tune of billions of pounds.

We will create a
Scottish National Bank under Scottish control and backed by the National
Investment Bank with £20bn of lending power to deliver the funds to local
projects and Scotland’s small businesses creating work and stimulating the
economy.

We will aggressively
take on the tax avoiders and evaders starting with having corporations publish
their tax returns.

We will ban zero hours
contracts giving new protections to the 60,000 Scottish workers currently with
no guaranteed hours. How can people plan or just pay the rent when they have no
security of income?

Is it right they wake
every morning and then wait for a text?

Unlike others, we will
set up inquiries into blacklisting and Orgreave … and we would urge the
Scottish Government to set up an inquiry into the actions of the Scottish
police during the Miners’ strike.

We will give all workers
equal rights from day one to stop some workers being exploited and others
undercut.

We will introduce a
right to own giving workers first refusal when their company faces a change of
ownership or closure.

We’ll properly fund the
Health & Safety Executive shamefully cut back under this Government
compromising those great gains that our movement has historically fought so
hard for

And we will work with
trade unions and industry to reintroduce sectoral collective bargaining across
the country.

We will also introduce 4
new public holidays giving people the time to lead better and more fulfilling
lives, helping productivity at the same time. And we will ask for the support
of the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland so that the same
four holidays can be enjoyed across the United Kingdom.

Friends, our aim is a
country where everyone who can has the dignity of work and where
everyone has a guarantee of dignity at work

Friends, these are the
type of transformative policies that can change people’s lives for the better.

Just like always has
been it is only Labour that will deliver for working people, small businesses
and our most vulnerable people none of the rest would even think of these type
of policies let alone achieve them.

~~~~~~~

Friends, it is
only Labour that will focus on the kind of country we need to have
after Brexit.

In the coming
weeks Labour will lay out more of our policies that will unlock
opportunities for every single person in this country.

We will focus on giving
people real control over their own lives and make sure that everybody reaps a
just reward for the work that they do.

We will no longer allow
those at the top to leach off of those who bust their guts on zero hours
contracts or those forced to make sacrifices to pay their mortgage or their
rent.

Instead of the country’s
wealth being hidden in tax havens we will put it in the hands of the
people of Britain because they are the ones who earned it.

In this
election Labour will lead the movement to make that change. 

We will build a new
economy worthy of the 21st century and we will build a country for the many not
the few.

Ends




While the Conservatives shirk responsibility, Labour will deal with the dirty air damaging the lives of millions of British people – Hayman

Sue Hayman MP, Shadow Secretary of
State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
ahead of the High Court consideration
of the government’s request to further delay publication of their air quality
plan, said:

“If the government fails to
publish its plan to deal with the chronic levels of air pollution today then
Labour will, within the first 30 days of our administration.

“Labour will bring forward a new
Clean Air Act, setting out how we would tackle air pollution that NHS experts
say contributes to 40,000 premature deaths every year. 

“With nearly 40 million people in
the UK living in areas with illegal levels of air pollution, it is simply not
acceptable for ministers to hide behind the general election to delay
publishing plans to improve air quality.

“Purdah rules exist to stop one party
using the machinery of government for their  electoral advantage, not to
be used as an excuse to delay acting on vital public health matters. We trust
that the court will recognise this.

“While the Conservatives shirk responsibility,
Labour will deal with the dirty air damaging the lives of millions of British
people.”




Labour to give workers a break and bring our four nations together with four new national holidays

Jeremy
Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, will announce Labour’s plan to give
Britain’s workers the break they deserve and bring our four nations together
with four new national holidays for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Under Labour’s proposals, UK-wide public holidays will be held on St, David’s
Day (1st March), St Patrick’s Day (17th March), St. George’s Day (23rd April)
and St. Andrew’s Day (30th November). With eight public holidays, the UK
currently has the fewest of any G20 or EU country.

Speaking on St George’s Day to announce the policy, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of
the Labour Party, will say:

“For years, Britain’s workers haven’t had a proper pay rise, with wages
for most people still below 2007 levels. After seven years of painful
austerity, our workers deserve a break – and under a Labour government, they
will have the opportunity of four more days off a year.

“The four nations that make up our great country have rarely been more divided
due to the damaging and divisive policies of this Conservative government.

“But where Theresa May divides, Labour will unite our four nations. A Labour
government will make St George’s Day – England’s national day and Shakespeare’s
birthday – a public holiday, along with St David’s Day, St Andrew’s Day and St
Patrick’s Day.

“And we will ask for the support of the governments of Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland so that the same four holidays can be enjoyed across the
United Kingdom.

“These holidays will be a chance for workers to spend time with their families,
in their communities and with their friends. But they will also be a chance to
celebrate the national cultures of our proud nations.

“The next Labour government will give workers the break they deserve and bring
our country closer together.”

The Leader of Scottish Labour, Kezia Dugdale will say:

“Scottish Labour believes that together we’re stronger, and that means
celebrating what unites us across the four nations of the UK.

“St Andrew’s Day is a proud day of celebration in Scotland, and some workers
already get the day off, but Labour would like to see that extended to all
workers – not only in Scotland, but across the UK.

“Scotland is home to tens of thousands of people from England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, and this policy will encourage the entire country to
celebrate the four national days.

“Our country is far too divided as a result of the SNP’s plans for a second
independence referendum and the Tories’ plans for a hard Brexit, and only by
backing Labour can voters send Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May a message that
together we’re stronger.”

The Leader of Welsh Labour, Carwyn Jones will say:

“Welsh Labour has long been in favour of making St David’s day a public holiday
in Wales. Today’s pledge would make that a reality for the 1.4 million
hardworking people across Wales.”

Ends

Editor’s Notes:

1. The UK
has the lowest number of public holidays of the major economies – 8 compared
with a G20 average of 12. Four extra holidays would take us to the G20 average.

2. St
Andrew’s Day is a public holiday in Scotland, where the issue is devolved, as
is St Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland. Labour’s proposal would be to seek the
support of the governments of the three devolved administrations for four
public holidays, but the decision whether to go ahead in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland would be theirs.

3. Estimates
of the economic impact of public holidays (including by the DCMS) are
contradictory, varying between a net benefit and net cost. There is no
definitive measure. There is also evidence of productivity and wellbeing
benefits, and the evidence of costs are that they are of delayed rather than
lost output.

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/economic-affairs/EconomicOutlook/cEAC270312ev1.pdf