Labour

Ahead of the Conservative Party’s Manifesto launch, Labour is today publishing a document looking at the Tories’ record of broken promises.

The document – entitled: ‘One Tory Manifesto. Two years of Failure. 50 Broken Promises’ – lists 50 examples of when the Conservatives broke their word. From the NHS to education, from living standards to policing, the Tories have broken their promises time and again. 

·         They promised on the economy, but they have missed every debt and deficit target they set themselves

·         They promised to raise living standards, but working families are set to be on average over £1,400 a year worse off

·         They promised to improve all standards of NHS care, but A&Es are in their worst state on record and hospitals are in financial crisis

·         They promised to protect school spending, but per pupil spending is going down and class sizes are soaring

As they launch their latest manifesto, it is a reminder that the Tories can’t be trusted to keep their word.

Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s National Election Co-ordinator, said:

“When Theresa May launches the Tory manifesto we can expect her to make a raft of promises to the British people. But, as the Conservatives make their latest solemn pledge there’s one thing we must bear in mind: we’ve been here before.

“Theresa May pretends otherwise, but she is a politician with a track record of failure and broken promises. From the economy to the NHS, and policing to schools, Theresa May’s Tories have failed again and again to deliver on the pledges they made.

“They made promises, they quickly broke them; they would do so again. The Tories can’t be trusted. Britain cannot afford five more years of them and their broken promises.”

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, commenting on the death of Rhodri Morgan, the former First Minister for Wales, said:

“Tonight we’ve lost a good friend, a great man and, above all, a giant of the Welsh Labour movement.

“I saw Rhodri just last month, campaigning in Cardiff North with Carwyn Jones. 

“Rhodri was an incredibly effective First Minister for Wales. He stood up for Wales, its people’s future and its public services. So much was achieved in his nearly ten years in the post, making a real success of devolution and laying the foundations for what the Welsh Government is accomplishing today.

“I first met Rhodri in 1987 on his election to Parliament and we became good friends. Our thoughts are with his wife Julie and the rest of the family. They can be truly proud of Rhodri’s enormous achievements.”

Carwyn Jones Labour’s First Minister of Wales, said:

“Wales hasn’t just lost a great politician, we’ve lost a real father figure. In very many ways Rhodri wasn’t like other politicians, and that is why people warmed to him, trusted him and felt like they knew him so well. He was funny, clever, engaging on almost any topic and absolutely passionate about all things Welsh.

“I owe him a great deal, just as we all do in Welsh Labour. He did so much to fight for, and then establish devolution in the hearts and minds of the public in our country. His bright confidence was infectious, and we can see so much of Rhodri’s can-do attitude in our modern Wales. That first decade of self-governance, and making distinct choices for Wales will forever be associated with his leadership.

“He will be hugely missed, and my thoughts are with Julie and all the family at this sad time.”

Tom Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Rhodri was one of the greats and I’m very sad to learn of his death. 

“I was with Rhodri and Julie on Thursday at a dinner in Cardiff for Labour MPs and he was as irrepressible as ever, laughing and joking with friends and guests. 

“He will be remembered for his fierce intellect and his passion for the Welsh people, whom he served with distinction. 

“He was a gifted First Minister of Wales, a respected Labour leader and a fine man. 

“The Labour movement will miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with Julie and the family.”

The Shadow Chancellor today has challenged the Chancellor to a live TV debate on the economy before 8th June. In a video released online after Labour published their manifesto and full costings, John McDonnell, said:  

“The Labour Party published its manifesto and we published the detailed costings of all our policy proposals and where the funding would come from to pay for those policies.

“We set the framework  for the management of our economy for the future, managing the economy for the many not the few. 

“Now we want to have a democratic debate in this election. Theresa May is hiding from a debate with Jeremy Corbyn on television, but you know in France they had that debate between the two main contenders for the presidency and it’s part of our democratic system.

“So come on Mr Hammond, come and have a debate with me because I believe once we’ve had that debate people will realise just what your government is all about.

“More austerity stifling our economy, failing to ensure that people in work are properly paid and undermining those people who can’t work as a result of your benefit cuts.

“I’m challenging Philip Hammond to a debate on Tory cuts and on the economic strategy that Labour has set out for strong economy that benefits the many and not few.

This morning the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, further proved that he and the Conservatives have no grip on the public finances. After seven years of Tory economic failure, which has seen £700 billion added to the national debt despite massive spending cuts, every household in Britain should fear more years of Tory failure and incompetence.

In the course of only five minutes of a car-crash interview, Philip Hammond showed that he:

·         Doesn’t know the cost of his government’s biggest single investment, the HS2 high-speed line, getting the cost wrong by more than a staggering £20 billion;

·         Doesn’t know how his own fiscal rule for spending works as he confused day-to-day spending and investment spending;

·         Doesn’t have any clear plan in place to balance the public finances, including filling the £2 billion black hole that his National Insurance u-turn created.

Just a day after Labour published its comprehensive and fully-costed plans for the economy, the Tories’ plans are in total disarray. The Chancellor couldn’t even rule out further tax hikes for low and middle earners, unlike Labour who have guaranteed no rises in employee National Insurance, no rises in VAT, and no rises in income tax for 95 per cent of taxpayers. 

And Phillip Hammond confirmed that relations between him and Number 10 are so bad that they are reduced to expletive-laden phone calls.

Even Theresa May doesn’t trust Philip Hammond any more, refusing to confirm today that he will stay on as Chancellor after the election. If the Prime Minister can’t trust her own Chancellor, why should the British people?

Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Peter Dowd, said

“This morning Philip Hammond has shown the Conservatives have no grip of the public finances. It is worrying that the Chancellor clearly doesn’t know how much a massive infrastructure project currently underway will cost, or the difference between revenue and capital spending. The fact he doesn’t know how much money he needs to put aside for major capital infrastructure projects and has no plan to balance the public finances beggars belief.

“We should not forget that there is already a £2 billion black hole in his first Budget following his u-turn on increasing National Insurance. Nor should we forget he has been part of a Tory government that has added £700 billion to the national debt – more than all Labour governments in history.”

“Labour is the only party with a fully costed plan to revive Britain’s economy and close the Conservatives’ never ending budget deficit, while protecting everyone from tax increases on VAT and NICs, as well as guaranteeing 95 per cent of income taxpayers won’t face income tax rises.”

John McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on today’s ONS labour market statistics, said: 

“These figures bring home the Tories’ total failure to improve the living standards of working families.

“Real wages are lower than they were in 2010 and, after seven years of the Tories, they are now falling again. 

“The choice at this election couldn’t be clearer: either a Tory party presiding over a crisis in living standards or a Labour government that will build a Britain for the many, not the few.”