Labour

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, commenting on the latest Nursing and Midwifery Council data showing a further fall in numbers on their register, said:

“The new figures from the NMC expose the Government’s hollow promises on nurse recruitment. Far from delivering the staff needed to keep patients on wards safe, nurse numbers are now in fact falling in our NHS. It’s staggering that numbers are falling when all the evidence shows we need more nurses in the NHS, not less.

“The truth is that the Government has totally failed in its planning of the NHS workforce. The disastrous pay cap has pushed staff to the brink and the end of bursaries has led to a fall in places on nursing degrees. Now Theresa May’s chaotic approach to Brexit is directly impacting staffing levels in the NHS.

“With winter coming it is essential the NHS can get enough staff in place to deliver safe services for patients. The Government needs to get a grip and come up with a sustainable long term plan for the NHS which deals with the staffing crisis and gives the NHS the funding it needs.”

MPs have unanimously passed a Labour motion calling on the Government to share the 58 Brexit impact studies to a parliamentary select committee.

The Speaker of the House of Commons has been clear that today’s decision is binding. Speaking during the debate, John Bercow, said: “Motions of this kind have in the past been seen as effective or binding.” 

Labour is now calling on ministers to urgently set a date for when the papers will be released to the Brexit Select Committee.

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, said:

“This is a victory for Parliament and for democracy.

“Labour has been absolutely clear since the referendum that ministers could not withhold vital information from Parliament about the impact of Brexit on jobs and the economy.

“It’s completely unacceptable for the Tories to have wasted months avoiding responsible scrutiny and trying to keep the public in the dark. The reality is that it should not have taken an ancient Parliamentary procedure to get ministers to listen to common sense.

“As the Speaker has made clear, the Government cannot ignore tonight’s binding decision. David Davis must now respond to Parliament’s ruling and urgently set a date for when he will share these papers.”

Julie Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, commenting on the Government’s announcement of a new compliance scheme for social care providers who may have underpaid workers for sleep-in shifts, said:

“Today’s announcement is a betrayal of low-paid care staff by the Conservative Government which also continues to ignore the crisis they’ve created in social care.

“It is an outrage that care staff, who are some of the lowest paid in the country, may now have to wait until March 2019 to get the pay they have earned. It shows Theresa May’s pledge on becoming Prime Minister to help the lowest paid and those, like care staff, working round the clock to be utterly hollow.

“The Tory Government must ensure that care staff receive the money to which they’re entitled and ensure providers can continue to operate so that vulnerable people can continue to receive vital social care services.”

Matthew Pennycook MP, Shadow Brexit Minister, responding to Liam Fox’s comments to the House of Commons International Trade Committee, saying he is “not afraid” of ending up with no deal, said:

“Liam Fox’s comments expose the cavalier approach the Tories are taking to the Brexit negotiations.

“Senior Tories seem blind to the realities of what crashing out of Europe without an agreement would mean. It would mean higher prices in the shops, longer queues at the airport and potentially a significant risk for major parts of the economy. 

“Theresa May should call out the fantasy Brexiteers in her own Cabinet and guarantee that an agreement with Europe is reached.”

Peter Dowd MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, speaking after the report stage and third reading of the Finance Bill, in which the Government blocked Labour’s anti-tax avoidance amendments to the bill, said:

“Today we have seen another example of the Government’s desire to be seen to be doing something on tax avoidance, when in fact the changes proposed are artificial and amount to little while the exemption for offshore trusts remains intact.

“In the past month alone, we have seen the government face a barrage of criticism from the European Union for its poor record on tackling tax avoidance.”