Labour

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on today’s IFS analysis of the public finances, said:

“Today’s analysis by the IFS reveals the failure of seven years of Tory Government.

“Despite promising to balance the books by 2015, the IFS says the UK’s public finances ‘compare unfavourably to other advanced economies’ with the fifth largest deficit and the sixth largest debt pile.

“The IFS points to ‘persistently poor economic growth’ as one of the factors explaining the UK’s poor public finances.

“It is clear that under the Tories working people have suffered from sluggish growth, soaring debt and stagnating pay.

“Only Labour has a proper plan for the public finances underpinned by our Fiscal Credibility Rule, which will allow us to grow the economy and deliver for the many, not the few.”

Labour is today committing to provide funding to the 43 forces across England and Wales to hire an extra 10,000 officers operating in community policing roles. We will provide the framework to enable community engagement and funding to ensure at least the equivalent of one more bobby per electoral ward. 

It will mean an extra police officer dedicated to community policing in each electoral ward in England and Wales to tackle crime for the many not the few.

• Labour will add 10,000 new police officers for England and Wales
• Paid for by reversing cuts to Capital Gains Tax
• Reported crime is rising under the Tories, up for almost every police force
• Under Theresa May, the Tories have cut over 20,000 police officers since 2010
• They have also broken their pledge to protect the police budget
• Labour will protect current police levels and not cut the police budget

Almost every police force in the country recorded an increase in crime over the last year, with worrying rises in some of the most violent offences, including gun and knife crime and homicide. Since 2010, under Theresa May, police numbers have been cut by 20,000. Labour will reverse cuts to Capital Gains Tax which will more than fund these new officers in addition to guaranteeing current police levels.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will make the pledge on a visit to Southampton on Tuesday 2 May. He will say:

“Cutting police numbers especially when there is more crime to deal with is unacceptable. That’s why Labour will put 10,000 new police officers on our streets. The safety of our communities is vital to us all.

“Community policing means uniformed officers being visible, local and accessible. They engage with the public, have a detailed local knowledge and build a network of relationships.

“That’s why Labour will reduce crime by putting more police in the community to make sure policing works for the many not the few.”

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, she will say:

“Theresa May failed to protect communities as Home Secretary and has continued to fail them as Prime Minister.

“Labour will reverse the Tories’ tax breaks for the rich, providing new money that can be used to put a bobby on the beat in every electoral ward in the country.  We will reinforce confidence in our police forces, with a renewed focus on working with communities, and for communities to fight crime.”

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow chancellor, speaking at the May Day rally in Trafalgar Square today, will say:

**CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY**

I want to thank you all for letting me speak here today.

There are those in the Tory press who will wish to paint this gathering in a negative light, but this rally on a day like today is really about the positive contribution many hardworking people in our country make.

And how we can protect them, for the future of our country depends upon it.

Our country is divided following the Brexit vote last year. And the Tories seek to divide it further.

Today’s deeply worrying revelations on the reckless handling of the EU negotiations only act as further proof for why we need a Labour Government leading the negotiations with our European allies to ensure jobs and living standards are protected.

Not a Tory Party prepared to take our country over a cliff-edge.

This Government is not just in another galaxy when it comes to Brexit but also when it comes to solving the problems the silent majority of working families face in our country.

Therefore, it falls once again to our movement to come together and unite our country, and stand up for the many suffering under a Tory Government that only rewards a rich few.

That is why it is vital this remains a peaceful protest, so as not to give our enemies in the Tory press the ammunition they need to misrepresent our peaceful intentions and goals to the public.

Today’s May Day rally must be remembered for its purpose – to focus all our minds on removing a Tory Government.

And it falls on each and every one of us to be upbeat and take that peaceful positive vision of a Britain reborn on the 9th of June to each and every doorstep over the next few weeks.

But it is not protest alone that changes these things. Changing government policy is the ultimate aim. 

And changing this Government in its entirety is our ultimate goal right now.

Yesterday, I announced Labour’s 20 point plan to transform our workplaces from the shop-floor right up to the boardroom.

Today, Jeremy Corbyn announced Labour’s plans to reform the housing market, to give renters the protections they desperately need.

But we can only achieve those goals if all of us here today take this passion out into the communities in our country, win the arguments on the doorsteps, and in our family and friendship groups, to get a Labour Government elected next month.

Today may be the 1st May, but let’s make June 8th the last day of Theresa May and her Tory Government.

And it is vital we do this.

As this is a Tory Government that has presided over a country in which our nurses have to rely on foodbanks, yes that’s right. Nurses, the heroes of our NHS. Abandoned by this Government.

And all this Tory Prime Minister can say about it is there are “complex” reasons.

It just shows how out of touch and how little she and her party really care about the problems facing hardworking people in our country.

The reasons why people use foodbanks are not complex – they use them because they are hungry and cannot afford to feed themselves. 

And many of them are in that position because of seven wasted years of Tory economic failure.

That’s why we need a Labour Government that will stand up for the many, and not the few.

We are all here today to speak up for the silent majority of working people that have never met an opinion pollster, but have experienced seven years of Tory austerity, and are now more than ever feeling the pinch of those policies.

The nurses using foodbanks.

The teachers holding raffles to afford books for their pupils.

The people sleeping rough on our streets, homeless without somewhere to sleep tonight.

The parents who are worried about paying the bills as their wages can’t keep up with the prices in the shops, and worry about keeping a roof over their children’s heads.

Or those people who just want to get on the propriety ladder and get on in life, but cannot afford a mortgage. Their aspirations are risked by a reckless Tory Brexit and what it means for our economy.

This is what we mean by the Tories’ rigged economy. And why we must end it.

Because those families struggling to get by – something this Prime Minister will never understand – need a Labour Government to put fairness at the heart of our economy again.

That is why we are here, united to stand up for the silent majority of working people in our country.

But it cannot remain silent and will not remain silent for very long.

That is why all of us here today need to make sure that our voices are heard, and that when we leave, we persuade as many people as we can to get out and vote next month.

As nothing is a certainty.

We can change this country.

Right now, there are six million people earning less than the living wage in our country, and four million children set to grow up in poverty.

But they do not have to be in this position. 

We can change this, and we will.

And all we have to do is change the Government by getting as many people as possible to vote Labour on the 8^th of June.

This will be the biggest political battle we have ever known. 

But remember we are fighting for the future of our country.

The choice is a Tory future in which nurses use foodbanks, and millions live in poverty and low pay.

Or a Labour future for the many, with a high wage, high skill, fair economy of the future.

Put simply, it is a choice between a Labour Government that stands up for the interests of the many in our country, not a Tory Government that only stands up for a rich few. 

So let’s go out there, and let’s win this fight.

Solidarity.

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, commenting on today’s reports about Theresa May’s meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker last Wednesday, said:

 “Whatever the purpose of these leaks, this is a deeply worrying account and further evidence that Theresa May’s rigid and complacent approach to Brexit negotiations risks leading Britain over a cliff edge. It is clearer by the day that an extreme Tory Brexit poses a severe risk to the British economy and to people’s jobs and living standards.

“Theresa May talks about strengthening her hand, but in reality she has misjudged her hand at every turn, weakening Britain’s position. By refusing to acknowledge the complexity and magnitude of the task ahead the Prime Minister increases the risk that there will be no deal, which is the worst of all possible outcomes.

“In pursuing a rigid and complacent approach, the Prime Minister now finds herself marginalised and isolated across the continent. Since day one, she has been driven not by the national interest, but by the interests of the Tory party.

“We urgently need a new approach. Labour will seek a new collaborative partnership with our European allies. We will guarantee the rights of EU nationals, immediately setting a different and more positive tone. And we will rebuild relations with the EU and make sure that jobs, the economy and rights come first.”

Labour pledges ‘consumer rights revolution’ for renters as it reveals £800 million a month in rent going to bad landlords 

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing John Healey has today pledged that under a Labour government there would be a ‘consumer rights revolution’ for renters, starting by introducing tougher legal minimum standards for all private rented homes. 

Mr Healey will say Labour’s new minimum standards will empower renters to “call time on bad landlords” letting out dangerous or sub-standard homes and who are being let down by Conservative Ministers who have weakened key legislation. 

Labour analysis released alongside the pledge shows for the first time the cost of England’s 1.3 million sub-standard private rented properties, now home to 400,000 families with children. Tenants are spending £800 million every month (£9.6 billion a year) on homes which the government classes as ‘non-decent’. Around a quarter of this– some £2.3bn a year – is paid by housing benefit.

At present, there are effectively no minimum standard for private renters, and tenants are reliant on over-stretched council environmental health teams to weed out dangerous homes rather than being able to take matters into their own hands.

Mr Healey will point out that in practice people have “fewer rights renting a family home than you do buying a fridge-freezer”. Consumer rights legislation is limited in housing so while consumers will normally get protections requiring that goods and services are ‘satisfactory quality’, and ‘fit for purpose’ with clear redress and ‘repair or replace’ provisions, there are no equivalent protections for renters.

A Labour government would consult with landlords and relevant professionals on new legal minimum standards to ensure properties are ‘fit for human habitation’ on specified criteria, for example:

–          safe wiring and appliances

–          freedom from serious damp and vermin infestation

–          appropriate water and sewage facilities

–          appropriate facilities for the preparation and cooking of food

–          general good repair.

Research by Shelter in 2014 found that six in ten renters (61%) have experienced at least one of the following problems over the last 12 months: damp, mould, leaking roofs or windows, electrical hazards, animal infestations and gas leaks.

As part of Labour’s five point plan on standards announced today Mr Healey will also pledge new powers for councils to license landlords and tough fines for those who flout the rules. 

John Healey MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, said:

“Our homes are at the centre of our lives but at the moment renters too often don’t have basic consumer rights that we take for granted in other areas. In practice you have fewer rights renting a family home than you do buying a fridge-freezer. As a result, too many are forced to put up with unacceptable, unfit and downright dangerous housing.

“The number of families renting from a private landlord has soared since 2010 but decisions made by Conservative Ministers have made it easier for a minority of bad landlords to game the system. Most landlords provide decent homes that tenants are happy with, but these rogue landlords are ripping off both renters and the taxpayer by making billions from rent and housing benefit letting out sub-standard homes.

“After seven years of failure the Conservatives have no plan to fix the housing crisis. The next Labour government would call time on bad landlords. We’d introduce proper minimum standards to put renters back in control, and give councils the powers they need to tackle the worst offenders.”