Labour

Labour Leader sends message of hope and peace for Christmas

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is sending out a message of hope and peace in his 2017 Christmas card.

The design echoes the cover of the party’s general election manifesto, ‘For the Many, not the Few’, that helped inspire Labour’s biggest increase in vote share since 1945.

The message inside reads: “Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful 2018.”

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Christmas is a time to reflect on the urgent need to transform our society to eradicate homelessness, loneliness and poverty, and bring about peace around the world.

“This year we defied the pundits and in the snap General Election overturned Theresa May’s majority and her mandate, giving hope to millions of people that things can and will change.

“We look forward to 2018 as a government in waiting, ready to take over and serve the interests of the many, not the few.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to today’s inflation figures, said:

“Today’s rise in inflation to its highest level in over five-and-half years is extremely concerning, and once again reveals that after seven years of Tory economic failure, this Government has no answers to the problem of wages continuing to fail to keep up with prices.

“We shouldn’t forget that there will be millions of working families who will be struggling this Christmas already as a direct result of government policies such as the benefits freeze and the public sector pay cap; this is a further reminder of just how bad this double whammy of rising prices and Tory austerity policies will be this month for them.

“The next Labour government will ensure working people’s living standards are protected with a Real Living Wage of £10 per hour, ending the public sector pay cap, and by building a high wage, high skill economy that works for the many, not the few.”

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Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, commenting on the recent Resolution Foundation report, said:

“Britain needs a pay rise – and this applies to both standard and overtime hours. The fact that fewer workers get overtime pay coupled with a fall in the number enjoying a premium of more than 10% is indicative of wage stagnation in this country. This is why Labour wants to introduce a package of employment rights, including sectoral collective bargaining to improve the pay and conditions of workers.”

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Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, commenting on the Government’s publication of a new Animal Welfare Bill, said:

“This is a rushed and haphazard attempt to backtrack on the Government’s mistake of not including animal sentience in the EU Withdrawal Bill.

“There are serious questions about whether this Bill is equivalent to current EU standards given that it does not appear to cover wild animals – giving this Tory Government freedom to pursue their pro-fox hunting and reckless badger culling agenda across England.

“Labour calls on the Government to rectify this situation by supporting Labour’s calls for animal sentience to be included as part of the EU withdrawal Bill, to maintain existing EU standards on animal welfare after the UK leaves the EU.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the vote on Labour’s reasoned amendment to the Finance Bill said:

“It is deeply shocking that this Government would rather give billions away to the big banks than invest in children’s services.

“This Bill does nothing to reverse seven years of wasted austerity, which has seen growth slowing, wages stagnating and poverty on the increase.

“The next Labour Government will make very different decisions to ensure that children’s services are fully funded and protected through our plans to build an economy for the many, not the few.”