Labour
will invest to transform the economy of the North – McDonnell commits Labour to
delivering Crossrail for the North

Today the
Shadow Chancellor has committed Labour to delivering on “Crossrail for the
North”, a series of major rail improvements across existing west-east links in
the North of England.

Labour
will commit to reversing decades of underinvestment in Northern transport
infrastructure that has undermined the economic potential of the north of
England and help deliver 850,000 new jobs by 2050.

The
current Tory Government has failed to invest in essential electrification of
Hull to Selby and other lines, and delayed electrification of the critical
Manchester-Leeds Transpennine route, which is not now due for completion until
at least 2022. Labour will commit to fight alongside its mayoral candidates and
local authorities to demand that the Westminster Government brings forward the
resources needed to help unlock the £97bn of economic potential in the North.

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, is expected to say:

“Labour
is absolutely committed to delivering HS3, a Crossrail for the North, starting
right here in Liverpool and connecting the great cities of the north of
England.

“There is
so much potential here currently squandered by underinvestment, delays and a
lack of real commitment from Whitehall.

“So with
our mayoral candidates in Manchester and Liverpool, and councils across the
north, Labour will be pushing for this government to deliver.

“It’s at
least a £10bn commitment from Labour to invest in the north.

“It means
the journey from Manchester to Leeds will take just 25 minutes, instead of
close to an hour.

“Or you
could get from Liverpool to Manchester in 25 minutes.

“Crossrail
for the North will become the foundations for a transformed Northern economy.”

Ends

Clive
Lewis MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy,
commenting on the energy price increases from Npower, said:

“This
government is doing nothing to enforce their own regulator’s strong advice that
there should be no price hike.

“They
have done nothing to increase the number of families getting help to insulate
their home. And they are not doing enough to ensure better customer treatment.
Theresa May should take urgent action to stand up for bill payers”

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s
Shadow Health Secretary, commenting
on the latest winter pressures data from NHS England, said:

“The NHS has been stretched to its limits this
winter, with wards
closed, operations cancelled and treatments delayed. Over 3 million people have had to go to A&E
since the start of December and A&E diverts are 86 per cent up on last
winter.

“But this week brought
further evidence of an NHS recruitment crisis – with 2.7 million breaches of
the Government’s agency cap in nine months, applications for nursing degrees
driven down 23 per cent and news today that in 2016 only half of junior doctors
progressed to specialty training. It will be patients who suffer further as a
consequence.

“Theresa May and her ministers simply cannot keep burying their hands in the
sand. The Prime Minister’s utter disregard is letting patients and their
families down.

“The Government is failing
to protect our NHS for the future. Urgent action is required and Labour is
calling for a sustainable funding package for health and social care to be
brought forward in the March Budget, so that the NHS and its patients never have
to go through a winter like this again.”

Sharon Hodgson MP, Shadow Minister for
Public Health, reacting
to Cancer Research UK’s report into women’s cancer rates rising faster than
men’s, said:

“Cancer
Research UK’s warning of cancer rates amongst women rising faster than those
amongst men in the next 20 years due to a lack of prevention measures should be
a warning shot to Ministers that their policies are failing the health of our
nation.

“Despite
the radical upgrade we were promised in the Five Year Forward View two years
ago, the Government’s mishandling of the NHS has seen this upgrade fall by the
wayside and has been exacerbated by the deep cuts to public health funding we
have seen.

“The
Government has a lot of work to do when it comes to their Cancer Strategy, but
they cannot let it be undermined by weakening preventative measures which can
address these issues at source. Ministers need a serious rethink when it comes
to their approach to public health.”

Ends

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the first report of the Northern Powerhouse, said:

“This report from George Osborne’s think tank is
all very well, but let’s not forget that he was a Chancellor in a Tory
Government that presided over falling school budgets, a chronic teacher
shortage and not enough good school places.

“The Tories’ huge cuts to schools funding will hit
schools in the North hard, making the problems highlighted in this report even
worse. The Northern Powerhouse means nothing unless the Government is
prepared to invest in education, skills and infrastructure.

“Theresa May must take action or the divisions
between North and South will become even deeper, with working people paying the
price for inequality. The Government must stop undermining our schools’ ability
to deliver an excellent education for all by failing to invest in our
children’s future.”