Labour

Justin Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, responding to the NHS Staff Survey 2016, said:

“The latest NHS staff survey demonstrates again the enormous pressures facing the people working in our health service in the face of Theresa May’s neglect and lack of interest. The Government’s endless underfunding of the NHS and demands on staff to do more and more with less is taking its toll and stretching workers to breaking point.

“The Government urgently need a plan to give our brilliant NHS staff the support they need at work. It should be a badge of shame for Theresa May that morale in the NHS is so low. The Prime Minister ought to be using her first Budget to help NHS workers so that they feel valued in their work and are able to care for patients to the best of their abilities without the fear of illness or harassment. The winter crisis would have been so much worse without the dedication of NHS staff but this survey is a clear warning that they cannot go on endlessly without more support.”

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking in response to the launch of a UK report from the Refugee Council, said:

“This report is a damning indictment of how this Tory Government treats refugees.

“The complex, arbitrary and hostile processes they have introduced have created a bureaucratic mess, with a backlog of almost 25,000 cases.

“Ministers urgently need to implement a streamlined system that assesses claims fairly and in a timely way, and treats asylum-seekers humanely.”

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Emily Thornberry MP, responding to the US administration’s updated travel ban said:

“Despite some cosmetic changes, this remains a retrograde step for the United States.

“By abdicating its responsibilities under international law, the administration continues to send a terrible message to the rest of the world on the refugee crisis. While it remains to be seen whether or not this new executive order will stand up in court, nothing in today’s announcement changes the fact that these measures are unnecessary, divisive and wrong.”

A Jeremy Corbyn spokesperson said:

“Jeremy’s tax return is complete and accurate. He has declared all income and paid the appropriate amount of tax.

“The payment he received in 2015-16 as Leader of the Opposition of £27,192 appears on the return as a ‘benefit’ rather than as pay because that is how it is categorised by HMRC.

“This figure is calculated after deducting the waivers Jeremy has made of earlier increases to the benefit. These waivers were also made by his predecessor, Ed Miliband. A parliamentary pension contribution of £3,395 was also deducted (see note).

“We are disappointed the Cabinet Office did not clarify this and explain the figure used on the P60 yesterday in answer to media inquiries they received.

“It is also a matter of concern that some media organisations made entirely false claims without verifying or confirming the facts, and we expect these now to be corrected.

“The owners of the media companies that have attempted to cast doubt over Jeremy’s transparent and accurate tax return are of course among those who could stand to lose from the tax transparency and justice the British people demand.

“Jeremy believes firmly in transparency. These media barons have tax questions of their own to answer. Tax avoidance and evasion deprive the public purse of billions in revenue for vital services and is unfair on those with much lower earnings who pay a higher proportion of their income in tax.”