Labour

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, speaking at the party’s campaign launch in Manchester, will say:

***Check against delivery***

It’s great to be launching our campaign in Greater Manchester where you showed the way for the rest of the country by electing a Labour mayor, Andy Burnham.

Andy will be a great mayor – but just think how much more he will be able to achieve if he is working with a Labour Government committed to the many not the few.

We have four weeks. Four weeks to take our message to voters to convince them Britain can be better. It can be transformed. It doesn’t have to be like this.

We can transform Britain into a country that – instead of being run for the rich – is a one where everyone can lead richer lives.

And I mean richer in every sense.

Richer because all of us have potential to fulfil, family to support, interests to pursue, richer when that potential is not held back.

Because there is no doubt; Britain is being held back.

If your children aren’t getting the education they deserve because class sizes are too high.

Then your children are being held back.

If you’re a young couple, or anyone trying to get a home and can’t make a home because rent and house prices are too high.

Then you’re being held back.

And if you’ve worked hard all your life, but can’t pursue your dreams in retirement because you’re supporting your family well into adulthood.

Then you too are being held back.

But Britain is a rich country – the sixth richest in the world.

We caught a glimpse of that wealth only two days ago when Rupert Murdoch’s Sunday Times published its Rich List.

In the last year, Britain’s 1,000 richest people have seen their wealth rise by 14 per cent to £658 billion – that’s nearly six times the budget of our NHS.

Imagine the outcry if public sector workers put in for a 14 per cent pay rise.

But it’s no surprise that the richest have got even richer after the tens of billions the Tories have handed them in tax cuts.

That’s what we mean when we say the system is rigged for the rich.

So thanks for making that clear, Mr Murdoch – though I imagine it’s the only help you will give us in this campaign.

In fact, we expect hostility. Our challenge to a rigged system is bound to meet hostility.

Change always involves taking on vested interests.

And there is a real danger that the Tories’ fearmongering and spin machine will make some people settle for less than they should. Resign themselves to things the way they are – underestimating just how many more burdens the Tories could impose if their mission to rig the system for the rich isn’t halted.

The stakes are high. We know from last week’s local elections how big the challenge is.

We have to convince the sceptical and undecided. They are not sure which way to turn.

And who can blame them?

People are alienated from politics and politicians.

Our Westminster system is broken and our economy is rigged. Both are run in the interests of the few.

Labour is under attack because we are standing up to the elites who are determined to hijack Brexit to pay even less tax and take even more of the wealth we all create.

Labour is under attack because we are standing up to the corporate interests plundering our NHS. How much more will be privatised if the Tories get another five years?

We’re drawing a line. Three decades of privatisation – from energy and rail to health and social care – has made some people very rich but it has not delivered richer lives for the majority.

In the coming days, we will be setting out our plan to transform Britain – with an upgraded economy run for the many not the few.

Theresa May thinks she can dodge the Tory record by claiming she wants to build a fairer Britain, that she cares about working people.

But does she think people will forget how the Tories have actually treated working people?  

It was this Tory leader who sat alongside David Cameron in government for six years.

She was with him when they introduced the bedroom tax.

What’s remotely fair about the bedroom tax? What was fair about racking up tuition fees? Or about taking benefits away from people with disabilities?

Or about closing Sure Start Centres. Or starving schools of cash. Or opening up the NHS to be feasted on by profiteers.

In case their talk of fairness doesn’t wash, they have another card to play. That this election is all about Brexit and who can play at being toughest with Brussels.

Labour will not allow the Tories to put their party interests ahead of the real national interest; the interests of the British people.

This election isn’t about Brexit itself. That issue has been settled. The question now is what sort of Brexit do we want – and what sort of country do we want Britain to be after Brexit?

Labour wants a jobs-first Brexit. A Brexit that safeguards the future of Britain’s vital industries, a Brexit that paves the way to a genuinely fairer society, protecting human rights, and an upgraded economy.

Labour’s plan to transform Britain will mean:

A big deal to upgrade the economy: new infrastructure to support the industries of the future. And an investment in training and skills to equip our workforce to compete globally.

It means rebuilding our NHS and social care services with the funding they need.

It means building a million homes to rent and buy.

And it means tackling the scandal of air pollution which contributes to 40,000 deaths per year.

We won’t be paying lip-service to working people.

We will introduce a comprehensive programme to strengthen rights at work, make sure new jobs are good jobs, and end the race to the bottom in pay, conditions and job security.

Low pay and insecurity have spread like an epidemic under the Tories.

Labour will invest in skills and jobs, and take action to enforce a floor under employment standards across the board – so that all jobs are decent jobs, so that all workers – the true wealth creators – can play their part in transforming Britain and benefit fully from it.

That’s why we are fighting to win this election.

So we can transform Britain for the many not the few.

When we win, the British people win. The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker win.

Labour is offering a real choice, a real alternative to the rigged system holding us back and to the Conservatives who are running our country down.

The economy is still rigged in favour of the rich and powerful.

When Labour wins there will be a reckoning for those who thought they could get away with asset stripping our industry, crashing our economy through their greed and ripping off workers and consumers.

When did the Conservatives – David Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Boris Johnson – ever stand up to their financial backers and demand our money back?

Never and they never will.

Instead, they make others foot the bill – they make our nurses, our carers, our soldiers, our disabled, our young people trying to get a home of their own, our elderly looking for dignity in retirement and those working hard to get on, foot the bill.

It makes me angry. And I know it makes the people of Britain angry too.

So today, I say to tax cheats, the rip off bosses, the greedy bankers; enough is enough.

In this election, Labour is standing for decent jobs, investment for the future, shared wealth creation, security at work, affordable homes for all, a fully funded NHS and schools, training and skills, an end to rip-off privatisation, fair taxation and a fairer, more equal country.

As we set out our detailed plans for Britain, the scale of the change we are offering will become clear.

So let’s turn our country around. Let’s come together to transform Britain. Together, we can win for the many not the few.

Don’t wake up on 9 June to see celebrations from the tax cheats, the press barons, the greedy bankers, Philip Green, the Southern Rail directors and crooked financiers that take our wealth, who have got away with it because the party they own, the Conservative Party, has won.

We have four weeks to ruin their party. We have four weeks to have a chance to take our wealth back.

We have four weeks to show what kind of country we are. We know that the people of Britain don’t pass by on the other side. That is the principle we will take into government so that we can unlock every person’s potential and everyone can make their best contribution to our society.

We have four weeks to win and transform Britain for the many not the few.

We must seize that chance.

Thank you.

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in response to the Conservatives’ announcement on an energy price cap, said:

“This is desperate stuff from the Tories, re-announcing something they tried to get a headline for just a fortnight ago. But just as when they announced it last time, there’s still no proper detail nor any real commitment to helping working people.

“When the Tories say they’ll ‘cap’ bills, the question they need to answer is whether they can guarantee bills won’t go up for people next year – that’s the real test. A cap suggests a maximum amount that can be charged, not a promise that bills won’t go up year on year.

“The reality is that the Tories aren’t offering anything for working people. Their record is one of failure and broken promises, letting ordinary people down at every turn. Over and over they’ve promised to get bills down but under them households are almost £900 worse off due to increase energy bills since 2010.

“Only Labour can be trusted to deliver a country for the many rather than just the few. All the Tories offer is broken promises and a record which has seen working people worse off.”

The next Labour government will make parking at NHS England hospitals free for patients, visitors and NHS staff. Labour created the NHS to be free at the point of use, so the next Labour government will eradicate the hidden charges of car parking fees.

Labour will increase the rate of Insurance Premium Tax to 20% for private healthcare insurance products to fund the policy, replacing the £162 million England’s underfunded hospitals currently raise from car parking charges by scrapping the subsidy for people that can afford it, rather than charging people who can’t.

Last month, a Freedom of Information request by Unison revealed some hospitals are charging staff, including nurses struggling with low wages, nearly £100 a month to park, resulting in reports of nurses having to rush out in between appointments to move their cars and avoid fines.

All of Labour’s new spending commitments are fully costed and transparent. This policy will be paid for by a new charge on private healthcare insurance.

Announcing the policy, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, said: 

“Labour will end hospital parking charges, which place an unfair and unnecessary burden on families, patients and NHS staff. Hospital parking charges are a tax on serious illnesses.

“Our hospitals are struggling from under-funding at the hands of Theresa May’s Conservative government, but the gap should not be filled by charging sick patients, anxious relatives and already hard-pressed NHS staff for an essential service.

“Our NHS needs a Labour government that will stand up for the many, not the few.”

Labour are today (Monday) announcing that a Labour government will mount a major programme to improve health and wellbeing of every child in the country. Our ambition is to make the next generation the healthiest the world has ever seen.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, will set out the party’s plans to combat health inequalities and end the scandalous link between deprivation and child health.

Labour will:

·         Introduce a new Index of Child Health to measure progress against international standards and report annually against four key indicators: obesity, dental health, under 5s, and mental health.

·         Legally require all Government departments to have a child health strategy to set out how they will support the UK’s ambition to have the healthiest children in the world.

·         Support school nurses and health visitors to make sure that all children have access to the healthcare they are entitled to.

·         Set up a £250m annual child health fund to support the strategy, by clamping down on management consultancy costs in the NHS.

·         Ensure extra funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and support for counselling in every school.

·         Ring-fence the public health budget over the course of the Parliament to allow councils to invest in leisure activities and health awareness campaigns 

Today (Monday) Labour is outlining the first stage of its plan focusing specifically on obesity which is costing the NHS £6bn a year.

Labour pledge to ban adverts promoting unhealthy food from being broadcast during primetime television, such as the X Factor, Hollyoaks and Britain’s Got Talent. A ban on pre-watershed junk food advertising would reduce children’s viewing of junk food adverts by 82%.

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, will pledge that a Labour Government elected after the General Election would:

·         Halve childhood obesity within ten years and make Britain “the healthiest country in the world to grow up in.”

·         Introduce legislation banning junk food advertising from being broadcast before 9pm

·         Publish a new childhood obesity strategy within the first 100 days outlining a roadmap to halving childhood obesity rates within ten years

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, will say:

“The scandal of child ill-health is a long-standing, growing and urgent challenge. It should be matter of shame that a child’s health is so closely linked to poverty and that where and in what circumstances you grow up can dramatically affect your life chances.

“Evidence shows the link between deprivation and poor health in childhood, so with child poverty on the rise, the need for action becomes more acute.

“The UK has one of the worst childhood obesity rates in Western Europe. Tooth decay is the single most common reason why children aged five to nine require admission to hospital. Around 13% of boys and 10% of girls aged 11-15 have mental health problems.

“When it comes to our children we should be ambitious. It’s time we invested properly in the health of the next generation. That means the sort of bold action we are outlining today to tackle obesity and invest in mental health provision.

Labour will put children at the heart our health strategy and put measures in place to make Britain’s children the healthiest in the world.”

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to Jeremy Hunt’s interview on Marr, said:

“We’ve now had an admission of failure straight from the horse’s mouth: the Tory-made A&E crisis is simply “not acceptable.”

“Jeremy Hunt this morning was forced to admit to the British public that the 4-hour A&E target has not been hit in over two years. This shameful statistic is symptomatic of the crisis that the Tories have left our NHS in. Britain cannot afford another five years of Tory failure.

“Only Labour will give the NHS the resources it needs to deliver the service patients deserve.”

Ends