Labour

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on today’s analysis from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that shows real wages will be no higher in 2022 than they were in 2007, said:

“This lost decade for living standards is a damning indictment of seven years of Tory economic failure.

“Philip Hammond attempted to present his failing and unfair Budget yesterday as a piece of good news for the self-employed. Today’s analysis shows that the reality for low income self-employed people is that changes to the tax and benefit system will leave them worse off. In the words of the IFS, National Insurance changes yesterday “are very small by comparison”.

“What we saw yesterday was more failure and more unfairness. After a decade of no real wage growth on top of Tory changes to the tax and benefit system, working people are worse off and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

“Only Labour will take the action needed to end the Tories’ economic failure and introduce a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020.“

Despite promising a mandatory ‘two strikes and you’re out’ minimum six-month prison sentence for carrying a knife, new figures from Ministry of Justice reveal that more than 2,000 people with one or more convictions for knife possession escaped an automatic prison sentence.

In response, Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon, said:

“The Tories are letting down the victims of crime by making promises they know they cannot keep.

“Knife crime is on the rise and the public want to be confident that people carrying knives face tough sentences.

“Ministers promised ‘two-strikes-and-you’re-out’ for knife possession, but a third of adult repeat offenders are still not being sent to prison.

“Rather than warm words and empty promises, the Tories need to make sure those who carry these weapons are properly punished.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the Social Security and Child Support tribunal statistics, said:

“These statistics show that two thirds of contested PIP and ESA assessment decisions are being overturned by the courts, demonstrating the total failure of the Tories’ punitive social security regime.

“This follows the news last week that the Government is ignoring a court ruling and denying 160,000 disabled people the support they need.

 “We cannot allow disabled people to bear the brunt of failing Tory austerity. Labour will transform the social security system to ensure that, like the NHS, it is there for us all in our time of need.”