Labour

Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, commenting on the letter from head teachers representing over 5,000 schools across England to the Chancellor about the Government’s inadequate funding for schools, said:

“Justine Greening needs to start listening to the head teachers and concerned parents who are facing the real consequences of her Government’s decision to put tax breaks for the super-rich ahead of investment in the next generation. 

“Despite Tory spin, the new funding formula does nothing to reverse the cuts to budgets and every penny they have found just comes from cutting other education provision – it isn’t fair, and it isn’t funded. 

“The next Labour Government will give our schools the resources they need, reversing Tory cuts and protecting per pupil funding in real terms, as we build a National Education Service for the many, and not just the few.”

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, commenting on new house price statistics, said:

“The number of home-owners under 45 has fallen by over 900,000 since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.

“The Tories have spent seven years talking about home-ownership but they have failed to help younger people on ordinary incomes get a good start in life and failed to build the new homes our country needs. The number of new low-cost homes to buy has halved since 2010.

“Labour will give young working people fresh hope of owning their own home by building more affordable housing for first-time buyers, cutting stamp duty, and giving local people first-dibs on new homes built in their area.”

The Shadow Chancellor will today warn of the cost implications of climate change on the public finances.

 In a speech at the IPPR think tank in central London, he will call on the Government to include the fiscal risks posed by climate change in future fiscal forecasts.

He will lay out how under the next Labour government the Office of Budget Responsibility will be made truly independent of government, and asked to model for the effects of human-made climate change on the public finances.

Recent research has shown the potential loss to UK GDP from climate change and environmental degradation as much as £75bn a year by 2050. 

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking today at the IPPR conference in London, is expected to say:

“The truth is that meeting the challenge of climate will require more than marginal adjustments. It will require a transformation of our institutions and how our economies are run.

“Over the last few years the Office for Budget Responsibility has established itself as an independent, authoritative voice on economic analysis. The next Labour government will guarantee and reinforce that independence by making the OBR report not to the Treasury but to Parliament.

“We want thorough and genuine oversight of our own fiscal plans. We want the public, whether businesses or voters, to be absolutely confident that the public finances are properly scrutinised and managed.

“And we want to ensure that the overwhelming challenge of climate change is addressed from the very centre of government. This includes the potential losses to the public finances.

“The next Labour government will therefore ask the OBR to include the impact of climate change and environmental damage in its long-term forecasts. The public deserve to know what impacts we might expect on the national purse from the degradation of our environment. Sound, responsible economic management should already be accounting for this.

“We’ll make sure the OBR has the resources needed to deliver the best available modelling of the economic impacts of the environment. It will become a new centre of expertise for environmental macroeconomics.

“And we will make sure not just the next Labour government, but future governments, will be absolutely committed to addressing this, our greatest single public challenge.”

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health, responding to the British Medical Association’s findings that almost a fifth of EU doctors have made plans to leave the UK, said:

“It is extremely worrying that almost a fifth of EU doctors have already made solid plans to leave the UK following the EU referendum result. On the day the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the Commons, this shocking news must spark immediate action from the Prime Minister.

“Theresa May must urgently safeguard the future of EU workers and stop treating them as bargaining chips in her reckless Brexit negotiations. Failure to do so seriously risks increasing staff shortages and exacerbating the already dire crisis in our health and care system.”

The UK Government must do more to help Barbuda rebuild for the long term after Hurricane Irma, Labour says after a meeting with the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP met Prime Minister Browne and High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill today to get an update on the latest situation on the island.

Barbuda was entirely evacuated after the hurricane in September and requires $250 million to rebuild its infrastructure. In the longer term, it needs support to develop resilience to the impact of climate change.

The meeting comes after Kate Osamor visited the island and met Prime Minister Browne last month.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said:

“Barbuda was devastated by Hurricane Irma but the response from our Government was painfully slow. I was pleased to welcome the Prime Minister and High Commissioner to discuss what more needs to be done.

“The UK must provide the help Barbuda needs to rebuild now and for the long term. And we must face up to the reality of climate change and the impact it is having around the world, particularly on small island states.” 

Kate Osamor, Shadow International Development Secretary, said: 

“When I met with Prime Minister Browne last month and saw the devastation from Hurricane Irma in Barbuda with my own eyes, it was obvious the world must do much more to help those worst hit by climate disaster, who are often the least of the polluters. 

“The UK’s international development policy must do more to level the playing field, and tackle the root causes of inequality, poverty and climate change.”

Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary, said: 

“The effects of climate change and rising sea levels have only worsened after the hurricanes we have seen in the past months. The Caribbean produces only a fraction of the world’s carbon emissions, so there is a responsibility on the part of big industrial countries to help those regions most at risk. 

“Simple aid packages and building projects are not good enough. Those Caribbean islands most affected need support in creating sustainable defences and structures against the hurricanes to come.”