Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, commenting on David Davis and
Michel Barnier’s joint press conference, said:

“After three rounds of
negotiations, real progress should have been made and in principle agreements
reached on all phase one issues. Instead, the two sides appear to be getting
further apart. 

"The
risk of not reaching the October deadline to move on to the main negotiations
is now very real; which increases the risk of Britain leaving with “no deal” in
March 2019.

"No
deal would be the worst possible outcome for the British people.

"Both
sides need to redouble efforts and work together to reach a strong Article 50
deal and a close future partnership. If more negotiating sessions need to be
added between now and the October deadline, they should be. Substantive
progress and clear outcomes are urgently needed.”

Tom
Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport, commenting
on online gambling firm 888 being ordered to pay a record £7.8m penalty by the
Gambling Commission, said:

“This
outrageous case is more evidence of a gambling industry that needs to do more to
protect vulnerable customers – not exploit them. With 430,000 problem gamblers
in the UK, and over 2 million more at risk of addiction, the sector has to take
responsibility and help people not to bet more than they can afford.”

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to
reports in today’s Financial Times that the NHS is facing a £100m agency
bill to boost GP numbers, said:

“This
is yet another example of the Government’s financial mismanagement of our NHS
and their lack of action when it comes to the GP workforce.

“Under
the Tories, general practice is being stretched to breaking point, and patients
are being let down as a result.

“This
Government needs to come up with a workable plan for boosting the number of GPs
and investing in frontline services, otherwise under the Tories, more and more
taxpayers’ cash will be spent on expensive agency bills.”

Alan Whitehead MP, Labour’s Shadow
Energy Minister and Climate Change,
responding to reports that Ofgem will implement an energy price cap for two
million vulnerable households, falling short of Theresa May’s General Election
promise, said:

“Theresa
May misled voters during the election by pledging to cap energy bills for 17
million households before quickly backtracking. Now she is trying to mislead
people again by claiming the responsibility to introduce a cap for all
households on standard variable tariffs lies with Ofgem, despite the regulator
making clear it needs the government to legislate.

"Unlike
the Tories, the next Labour government will offer more than empty words by
introducing an immediate emergency price cap to keep household bills down,
while we transition to a fairer system for bill payers.”

Peter
Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Public and Commercial Services union announcement that
protests about pay are due to take place across the UK, said

“These
protests reinforce the unfairness of the public sector pay cap and the poor
treatment that civil servants and other public sector workers have faced at the
hands of this Tory Government. Civil servants and other public sector workers
have seen their real wages fall constantly over the seven years of Conservative
pay freezes and caps.

“It is
shocking that our public servants have been forced into protesting their
poor treatment and falling wages caused by the Tory Government’s pay freezes
and caps. 

“Meanwhile,
the Conservative’s cabinet of chaos continues to stand up for a
privileged elite – handing out tax cuts for the rich and failing
to properly tackle tax avoidance.

“The next
Labour Government will lift the public sector pay cap and give all workers the
pay rise they deserve so that the economy works for the many and not the few.”