Brexit
makes action on self-employment all the more urgent, and Britain should lead
the way in supporting the self-employed, says Labour

In
the wake of the triggering of Article 50, Labour held a Self-Employment Summit
this morning to discuss the needs of the self-employed in the Brexit
negotiations and beyond.

The
Summit, the first held by Labour’s Commission on Self-Employment, was hosted by
the Federation of Small Business (FSB) and attended by key stakeholders,
including the TUC, the GMB, the British Chamber of Commerce, and the
Co-operative Party.

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

“Labour’s self-employment summit
today looked at all aspects of self-employment and the gig economy, including
how any changes to the tax system should be aligned with increasing support for
the self-employed.

“With the number of self-employed
people due to overtake public sector workers by 2018, we will develop a package
of measures for self-employed people that will form a major part of Labour’s
offer at the next General Election. While the Tories are prepared to attack the
living standards of the self-employed, Labour are listening and will act to
address the real issues they are facing.”

Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said:  

“The future success of the UK economy rests
squarely on the shoulders of the UK’s army of the self-employed.  These
are the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers, the freelancers, the strivers – and
without them we simply wouldn’t have a thriving economy, just as we face
Brexit.

“FSB
worked with the Labour frontbench and MPs from all parties to kill off the £2bn
tax hike on the self-employed.  We now need a proper policy debate about
future support for this critical part of the UK economy.”

Tim Roache,
General Secretary of the GMB Union, said: 

“Philip Hammond made a hash of his first Budget
by completely failing to look the wide range of issues facing people currently
classified as self-employed. This initiative from Labour comes at a crucial
time when work in all its forms is increasingly unclear and uncertain.

“GMB has genuinely self-employed members but we also
have plenty of members who are at a loss as to what their employment status is
or have been wrongly told they are self-employed by employers hell-bent on
shirking their legal and moral responsibilities.

“How many scandals and court cases do we have to see
before government ministers and HMRC stop twiddling their thumbs and start
taking their enforcement role seriously? It’s time that politicians grasped
this nettle.”

Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour’s Shadow Health
Minister, responding
to proposed sugar limits published by Public Health England, said:

“Labour supports action to tackle sugar
consumption and with the refresh of the Five Year Forward View published this
week there is a chance to set a really radical approach to obesity and
children’s health. It should be a matter of shame that obesity affects so many
children in the UK and that the circumstances of where you grow up can have
such a long term effect on your health outcomes.

“There is clear clinical and public
support for measures like sugar taxes which promote healthier living and can
keep people fit and well for the years to come.

“Theresa May watered down the
Government’s childhood obesity strategy but should be much bolder in supporting
radical public health measures. Too often the Prime Minister seems happy to
settle for second best for the nation’s wellbeing when she ought to position
Britain at the front of the global drive for better public health.”

Andy
McDonald, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on
reports that engineering firm CH2M has pulled out of a deal to provide rail
lines for phase 2b of HS2, said:

“It’s
remarkable the Department of Transport failed to do proper due diligence on
this multi-million pound bid.

“How
could ministers not realise giving CH2M a £170m contract when HS2’S new chief
executive and his predecessor both worked for the firm was a massive
conflict of interest?

“There
seems to have been a revolving door between CH2M and HS2 which must be
investigated. This is just as big a mess as the Department of Transport’s
mishandling of the West Coast franchise bid.

“Chris
Grayling must come to the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity to
explain how this bidding process was allowed to derail. They chose to bury the
bad news on Article 50 day. There must now be an inquiry into the serious
errors surrounding this bid and the Government must get the construction of
HS2, which Labour supports, back on track.”

Cat
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on the
Association of Young People’s Health 2017 report, said:

“Labour
welcomes this report showing positive downward trends in teenage pregnancy and
substance use.

“However,
the Tories are short-changing young people when it comes to their mental
health. It is completely unacceptable that only 0.7 per cent of NHS funding is
spent on young people’s mental health while 11 per cent of the NHS budget is
spent on mental health services overall.

“I
urge this Government to end their distorted austerity agenda, which is hitting
young people disproportionately, and start promoting youth-friendly health
services.”

Richard
Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to recent comments from Lords Neuberger and Thomas before the
Lords Constitution Committee, said:

“Liz
Truss encouraged the judiciary to speak out and now two of them have – both to
criticise her failure to defend the job they do. Instead of deflecting and
ducking, the Justice Secretary should accept that she failed her first test in
the job and apologise.”