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.”