Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the Households Below Average Income statistics, said:  

“These
statistics show a worrying increase in both poverty and inequality. Four
million children and two million older people are now living below the
breadline. Those living with a disabled person are more likely than ever to be
struggling to make ends meet.

“This
is a direct result of this Government’s seven wasted years of austerity and
punitive social security cuts.

“The Tories’ shocking failure to tackle
the increasing costs of basic essentials, stagnating wages and their ruthless
slashing of social security is leaving working families worse off up to 2020.”

“Labour would reverse cuts to in-work
support, ban the exploitative zero hours contracts being used on hundreds of
thousands of workers, and guarantee a real Living Wage.”

Cat
Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on
today’s Electoral Registration Statistics, said:

“While
the increase in electoral registration numbers following the EU referendum is
welcome, this Tory Government is still not doing enough to ensure that young
people are on the register.

“That
is why the Lords voted in favour of a Labour motion to the Higher Education and
Research Bill, requiring universities to give students the option to register
to vote when they sign up at university.

“If
the Tories are serious about making every voice matter they need to keep this
sensible addition when the Bill comes back to the Commons.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

·      
The total number of UK parliamentary electors
increased by just over 1 million (2.3%) between December 2015 and December
2016, reflecting the high levels of public engagement with the EU referendum.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/elections/electoralregistration/bulletins/electoralstatisticsforuk/2016  

·       A study from the Electoral
Commission in 2014 found that young people were a particularly
under-represented group on the electoral register http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/169889/Completeness-and-accuracy-of-the-2014-electoral-registers-in-Great-Britain.pdf

·       Before the Conservatives rushed
the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration, students were
automatically enrolled by their universities. However, the Electoral
Administration Act of 2013 did not provide for a suitable student registration
to be put in place when the old system of household registration was abolished.

·       On Monday 7^th
March the House of Lords voted in favour of Baroness Royall’s amendment to the
Higher Education and Research Bill. The amendment was passed, defeating the
Government, by a majority of 200 to 189. The amendment would require
universities to offer students the opportunity to register to vote at the point
of enrolment or re-registration as a student at their university, a proposal
first made by Paul Blomfield MP in the Commons.

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor,
responding to the Government’s u-turn on its £2 billion NICs rise in the Budget
last week, said:

“This
is a humiliating reversal for the Chancellor forced upon him by Labour’s
opposition. His authority is now shredded after just one Budget, and he tore up
a manifesto commitment to do it.

“We
welcome the Government’s decision to finally listen to Labour’s calls made in
Jeremy Corbyn’s Budget response along with those of business groups like the
Federation of Small Businesses to not go ahead with an unfair £2bn tax rise on
low and middle earners. But they should never have been placed in this position
to start with, and now we face yet another Tory Budget only a year on with a
blackhole in the billions. In 2015, we had the tax credit shambles. In 2016, we
had Personal Independence Payments reversal. Now in 2017 we have the u-turn on
National Insurance Contributions.

"There will be millions of working people who are now breathing a sigh of
relief, but it is the Chancellor who should be holding his breath as
this episode throws up urgent questions that he and the Cabinet must now
answer. 

“Did the
Prime Minister or the rest of the Cabinet, who must have seen the Budget in
advance and known this measure was to be implemented, raise their concerns with
the Chancellor before he announced it, worrying millions of families? It was in
the weekend papers before the Budget so they can’t say they were unaware it was
to happen.

“This is also the second year we have had a Tory Budget with a black hole in it
worth billions. This is not acceptable. What will he do to fill the shortfall
in a Budget he delivered less than a week ago without pursuing unfair tax
increases or further cuts to public services? As the Budget will still see
working people £1,400 worse off under the Government.

"On
the day the Brexit Secretary has admitted that he hasn’t looked into the costs
of the Prime Minister’s negotiating strategy, this is yet more proof that there
is disarray at the top of a government clearly making things up as they go
along.

"We need answers from the Chancellor and accountability at the top of
government. In no workplace would such practices be allowed to continue, and it
should not be allowed from those responsible for the public finances. Labour’s
new roundtable on self-employment will bring together business organisations,
trade unions and self-employed groups to lay out a serious and realistic
strategy to provide a fair deal for the self-employed at a time of major labour
market changes. We are proud to be the party of working people, small
businesses, and the self-employed.”

Keir
Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, responding to David Davis’ admission that the Government has not carried
out an assessment of the economic impact of leaving the EU without a deal, said:

“The
Government is recklessly talking up the idea of crashing out of the EU with no
deal. They have repeated the mantra that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’.

“But
we now know they have made no assessment of the economic impact of the Prime
Minister failing to secure a deal.

“What’s
clear, from the CBI and others, is that there is no result that would be worse
for the British economy than leaving with no deal; no deal would be the worst
possible deal. The Government should rule out this dangerous and
counter-productive threat before Article 50 is triggered.”

Sharon
Hodgson MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Public Health, reacting to the
British Lung Foundation’s report into the economic cost of lung disease in the
UK, said:

“Lung
disease is a major health issue here in our country. The British Lung
Foundation’s eye-opening report today is an important step in highlighting the
staggering and rising cost of this illness. There is not only a financial toll
for our society but for the NHS as well. It is so important that we do all we
can to address the various lung-related illnesses and diseases that people face
and make inroads into improving respiratory health.

“Ministers
urgently need to come up with a credible and comprehensive strategy to minimise
the prevalence of lung diseases in our country, and also to reduce the costs of
this illness on our society and our already stretched NHS.

“The cost of lung disease in the UK is getting
worse by the year and this enormous human and financial impact just can’t be
allowed to continue. The Government must be much more proactive in raising
awareness among the public and investing in preventative health measures which
can head off the risks of lung disease in years to come.”