Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the new Trussell Trust Christmas figures, said:

“Despite what the Government might think, it is absolutely unacceptable that so many families rely on foodbanks to get through Christmas.

“We know that the Tories’ botched Universal Credit roll out, and their freeze to social security are causing people to visit foodbanks to make ends meet.

“The social security system should not increase the need for foodbanks.

“Labour is calling on the Government to pause and fix Universal Credit before Christmas, and lift the harmful social security freeze.”

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, responding to the Government’s rail proposals, said:

“These flimsy re-announcements and un-funded proposals come as fares have risen at twice the rate of wages since 2010 and follow the decision to scrap hundreds of millions of pounds of promised rail investment.

“The Tories’ record is of delayed, downgraded and cancelled investment, huge disparities in regional transport spending and soaring fares that are pricing passengers off our railways.

“The Government’s failure stands in stark contrast to Labour’s plans to upgrade and expand the rail network across the country, including re-opening branch lines, funded through the National Transformation Fund, to be run under public ownership with affordable fares for all.”

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development in its latest economic outlook, said:

“The
OECD has added its fears to those of the Office for Budget Responsibility about
the UK economy under the Tories.

“These
figures further underline the complete failure of seven years of austerity and
the damage it has done to our economy. They also highlight that the UK is facing
the harshest austerity measures in the OECD, with household debt a concern and
growth expected to remain low for years to come.

“It’s
clear that the Tories’ austerity approach has not only failed in its stated aim
to eliminate the deficit, it is having real consequences for wages and growth
across the economy.”

John
Healey MP, Labour’s
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, commenting on new Government
statistics showing a 98 per cent fall in new social rented homes, said:

“After
seven years of Tory failure on housing, homelessness has doubled,
home-ownership has fallen to a 30-year low and the number of new genuinely
affordable homes being built has fallen off a cliff.

“These
shocking new figures show that in the six months before the Chancellor’s
so-called ‘housing Budget’, the number of new Government-funded homes for
social rent fell by 98 per cent compared to Labour’s last year in office.

“It’s
time Ministers supported Labour’s plan to build 100,000 low-cost homes to rent
and buy a year, including backing councils to build again.”

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation Report 2017, said:

“In every area the Commission has highlighted, the Tories’ record is one of failure. Under the Tories, Sure Start funding has been cut by half, nurseries are in crisis, there are 400,000 more children living in poverty and the Chancellor has just pocketed a £750m under-spend on childcare rather than invest in our kids.

“The Government has missed its teacher recruitment targets five years in a row – and for two years running more teachers have left classrooms than joined the profession.

“The Government’s offer on social mobility is a scheme to take a few children up to thirty miles a day by taxi to get to the nearest grammar school, while cutting school transport for the many.

“The consequences are stark. The country is becoming more divided, with the life chances of the poorest dependent on their postcode. Labour will do things very differently by creating a National Education Service to give opportunities to every child, whatever their background, as we transform Britain into a country that works for the many, not the few.”