Labour

Jeremy Corbyn will, on Wednesday 5 April, set out how Labour will stand up for working families. He will contrast Labour’s commitment with new evidence that the Tories have broken their promise to support families, slashing Sure Start schemes nationwide.

The Tories famously pledged to be the “most family friendly Government we’ve ever had” before the 2010 election. As part of this claim they said they would protect Sure Start, the transformative early years programme introduced by Labour to give young children the best start in life. But new research, based on Freedom of Information requests to councils, reveals the Tories have broken their promise. It shows:

·         There are now over 1,240 fewer designated Sure Start children’s centres than when the Tories took office – a fall of around 34 per cent since 2010.

·         Over 230 have been lost in the last year alone.

·         The North East and London have seen the biggest fall in numbers, with over 40 per cent of Sure Start Centres lost.

·         Two local authorities, Swindon and Solihull, reported that they have no designated Children’s Centres in their areas left.

Jeremy Corbyn will highlight these figures as he sets out how Labour will stand up for working families during a visit on Wednesday.

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the closures, said:

“The Tories claim they’re protecting Sure Start, but they’re not. They use tricky accounting methods – like pointing to buildings which are still open but which are running much reduced services – to try to pull the wool over people’s eyes. But the facts speak for themselves. On the same measure that was used in 2010, Sure Start has been slashed.

“There are a third fewer designated centres than there were when the Tories came to office. We know that because we asked local authorities, those tasked with running these vital services, and that’s what they told us.

“The Tories are taking us backwards. It’s a scandal that parents and children are paying the price.”

Ends

In an interview this morning with Sky News, Theresa May said she hoped Britain will have been able to “look at” the future trade deal with the EU by the time Britain formally leaves the EU in March 2019.

“[L]et’s look at the whole question of the where we end up at the end of this negotiation. Have we looked, will we have looked at both withdrawal and the future relationship, that’s what’s important … That’s what I’m asking for and that’s what I believe increasingly we will see.”

Theresa May, Sky News, 4 April 2017

She also conceded, for the first time, that the UK will have to sign the future trade deal with the EU as a third country. Given that the deal will be a ‘mixed agreement’, it will need to be ratified unanimously by all member states.

FI: Can you clarify that you accept what the European Council suggested which is that the final deal will be done as a third country status under a unanimous vote with everyone having a veto?

TM: There’s obviously a legal situation in terms of how the European Union can conduct trade negotiations.
Theresa May, Sky News, 4 April 2017

This is a significant retreat from what she and the Brexit secretary have previously said – in effect that Britain will be able to negotiate and finalise a new free trade agreement alongside the exit agreement by the end of the two year period. They have until now been adamant that any transitional period would be purely for “implementation” and “adjustment” of systems, rather than for negotiation of the terms of the future trade deal.

Responding, Labour’s shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield said:

“It is less than a week since the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, and it seems every day brings another broken promise from the Government. First they said immigration may go up after Brexit. Now they are backpedalling on trade deals.

“We will hold the Government to account on the pledges made to the British people during the referendum campaign and since. They promised a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU giving the “exact same benefits” we have now. They said it would be ready for the day we leave, along with new trade deals with other countries.

“Now, as they face reality, they are trying to downplay expectations. They need to spell out the transitional deal that will be in place, to stop the economy falling off a cliff edge without new agreements in two years time.”

Alex Cunningham MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Minister, commented on the Government’s plan to fund relationship support for unemployed families, said:

“Stronger relationships can help families to escape poverty, but the support announced today is a tiny response to funding the work that needs to be done to tackle rising inequality, child and pensioner poverty figures.

“All the evidence suggests that income is a central factor in poverty and inequality.

“Relationship support will not replace the social security support stripped from struggling families under seven years of failed Tory austerity.”

Ends

Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Minister, commenting on the suspected chemical attack in Syria, said:

“This was a shocking and barbaric attack, and our thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones.

“The use of chemical weapons by anyone cannot be tolerated, as the Syrian government itself accepted when it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, and there must be no impunity for those found responsible.”

Ends