Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party  said:

“I’m so sad to hear of the death of my good friend and comrade Tam Dalyell. Our thoughts are with his family.

“Tam was a titan of parliamentary scrutiny, fearless in pursuit of the truth. From Iraq to the miners’ strike, he doggedly fought to expose official wrongdoing and cover ups.

“The title of his autobiography summed Tam up to a tee: ‘The Importance of Being Awkward.’

“But he was much more than that: Tam was an outstanding parliamentarian, a socialist and internationalist, and a champion of the underdog, here and abroad.”

Today
Labour has tabled a number of targeted amendments to the Article 50 Bill (the
European Union [Notification of Withdrawal] Bill).

The
amendments seek to improve the process, and would ensure Parliament is able to
hold the Government to account throughout the Brexit negotiations.

Labour
is also tabling an anti-tax haven amendment to ensure the Prime Minister doesn’t use Brexit to weaken Britain’s laws concerning tax avoidance and evasion.

Labour
will also support two amendments drafted by Melanie Onn MP which would protect
workers’ rights and ensure there is no drop in employment protection after the
UK leaves the EU.

Labour’s
amendments will:

i)                   
Allow a meaningful vote in Parliament on the final Brexit deal. Labour’s
amendment would ensure that the House of Commons has the first say on any
proposed deal and that the consent of Parliament would be required before
the deal is referred to the European Council and Parliament.

ii)                 
Establish a number of key principles the Government must seek to negotiate
during the process, including protecting workers’ rights, securing full
tariff and impediment free access to the Single Market.

iii)               
Ensure there is robust and regular Parliamentary scrutiny by requiring the
Secretary of State to report to the House at least every two months on
the progress being made on negotiations throughout the Brexit process

iv)               
Guarantee legal rights for EU nationals living in the UK. Labour has
repeatedly called for the Government to take this step, and this amendment
would ensure EU citizens’ rights are not part of the Brexit negotiations.

v)                 
Require the Government to consult regularly with the governments in Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout Brexit negotiations. Labour’s
amendment would put the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) on a statutory
footing and require the UK Government to consult the JMC at least every two
months.

vi)               
Require the Government to publish impact assessments conducted since the
referendum of any new proposed trading relationship with the EU. This amendment
seeks to ensure there is much greater clarity on the likely impact  of the
Government’s decision to exit the Single Market and seek  new relationship
with the Customs Union

vii)             
Ensure
the Government must seek to retain all existing EU tax avoidance and evasion
measures post-Brexit

Jeremy
Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Labour
will seek to amend the Article 50 Bill to prevent the Government using Brexit
to turn Britain into a bargain basement tax haven off the coast of Europe. Our
country can do much better than that.

“We
respect the will of the British people, but not the will of this Tory
government to impose fewer rights at work and worse public services, while the
largest corporations pay even less tax.

“Labour
will ensure that the British people, through Parliament, have genuine
accountability and oversight over the Brexit negotiations because no one voted
to give Prime Minister Theresa May a free hand over our future.”

Keir
Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, said:

“Now
that Parliament has the right to trigger Article 50, we need to ensure there is
proper grip and accountability built into the process.

“Labour’s
amendments will also seek to ensure the Prime Minister secures the best deal
for the whole country – including tariff and impediment free access to the
Single Market and that there is no drop in workers’ rights.

“Labour’s
amendments will significantly improve the Government’s Bill – in particular by
ensuring the House of Commons has the first say on the final Brexit deal and
that there are regular opportunities to hold the Government to account.

“Labour’s
amendments will also seek to ensure the Prime Minister secures the best deal
for the whole country – including tariff and impediment free access to the
Single Market and that there is no drop in workers’ rights. We will also
vigorously oppose any plans to reduce powers to tackle tax avoidance or
evasion’.

“The
Article 50 Bill will be the start, not the end of the Brexit process and Labour
will hold the Government to account all the way”

Melanie
Onn MP,
who has tabled two amendments with Frontbench support on workers’ rights said:

“The
Tories can’t be allowed to use Brexit as an excuse to water-down people’s
rights at work.

“That’s
why I am introducing amendments to protect in British law all workers’ rights
which originate from the EU, including maternity pay, equal rights for agency
and part-time workers, and the working time directive.

“The
British people voted to leave the EU, but I don’t think anyone was voting for
more insecure contracts or a less safe workplace.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary,
responding to the Government’s announcement of jobcentre closures, said:

“At a
time when the Tories are cutting social security and introducing sanctions for
low-paid workers, it’s reckless at best and perverse at worst for the
Government to close so many Jobcentres.

“Only this government’s distorted
austerity agenda could lead to such contradictory policies.

“This
Tory Government’s decision to close Jobcentres across the country shows they
are not serious about helping people to find decent, secure and well-paid
work’.

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health, commenting on a report by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Deaths on Mental Health in General Hospitals, said:

“It is well known that patients with severe mental health conditions are likely to develop physical health conditions earlier in life, yet this report shows that only 46 percent of patients with a mental health condition received good care in General Hospitals. It is unacceptable that patients with a mental health condition receive both poor physical and mental healthcare.

“The number of people attending A&E with psychiatric conditions has risen sharply since 2010 and many patients also have an underlying mental health condition. Yet, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has reported that only seven percent of A&E departments provide liaison psychiatry services 24/7.

“Tory Ministers should pay serious attention to reports like this. They should be aiming to have a mental health liaison team in every A&E as soon as possible. This could help reduce the level of readmissions to hospital highlighted in this report and improve the standards of care for patients with a mental health condition.“

Ends

Jeremy
Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party,
commenting on the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Trump, said:

“Theresa
May must stand up for our country’s values when she meets Donald Trump and
oppose his support for torture, which is inhumane, illegal and delivers false
intelligence. There can be no indulgence of the US President’s renewed threat
to ban Muslims or build a wall on the Mexico border.

"The
Prime Minister must assure the British people that any trade deal with the
United States won’t open up the National Health Service to privatisation and
control by US companies. We won’t let Theresa May turn Britain into a bargain
basement tax haven off the coast of Europe to be ripped off by the world’s
biggest corporations.

"And
for the future of the planet, Theresa May needs to remind President Trump that
climate change is real and not a hoax invented by the Chinese.”