Labour

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the announcement that BAE Systems will be cutting 1,915 jobs in the UK, said:

“This is truly appalling news for BAE’s workers and for communities across the UK.

“The jobs that BAE are cutting are highly-skilled and their loss will be felt in areas that have a strong tradition of defence manufacturing.

“It is time for the Government to address the clear uncertainty that is felt by the industry and come forward with an urgent plan to save these jobs. This must include the possibility of bringing forward orders to provide additional work for BAE’s employees, such as replacing the Red Arrows’ fleet of Hawk aircraft that are approaching the end of their service life.”

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Dawn Butler MP, Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities, commenting on the release of the government’s Race Disparity Audit, said:

 

“The real ‘uncomfortable truth’ is that Theresa May knew that cuts to services would disproportionately affect groups with protected characteristics. So much so that she wrote to the then Prime Minister in 2010 warning that ‘there are real risks’ that women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people will be ‘disproportionately affected’ by proposed cuts.

 

“But as Prime Minister, knowing full well the damage that would be caused by the Conservative cuts, Theresa May has done nothing but exacerbate the problem. Far from tackling burning injustices, she has added fuel to the fire.

 

“If the Prime Minister really feels so strongly about this issue, why did she sit on this report and refuse to share it with parliament – despite Labour asking her to publish it three months ago? This Government’s report is not enough. What we need are solutions and a sustained effort to really tackle burning injustices.“

 

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Notes to editors

 

At the last election, Labour issued a race and faith manifesto to tackle problems of discrimination. Policy proposals included:

• introducing equal pay audit requirements on large employers

• launching an inquiry into names-based discrimination and consider rolling out name-blind recruitment practices if necessary

• implementing the Parker Review recommendations to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of Britain’s largest companies

• enhancing the powers and functions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

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Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Mental Health, commenting on the findings of the CQC’s State of Care Report 2017, said:

“It is unacceptable that over a third of NHS core mental health services require improvement on safety.

“Tory cuts have led directly to the problems mental health services are experiencing, including falls in nurse numbers, poor physical environments and long waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services.

“Labour will invest in mental health services and ring-fence budgets so that funding reaches the front line.

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Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the CQC State of Care Report 2017, said:

 

“The detail of this CQC report reveals damning evidence of the Government’s inability to maintain health services at the standard which patients expect.

 

“The NHS is now running at ‘full stretch’ with hospitals full to unsafe levels, and ongoing problems in staffing and recruitment which Tory ministers have failed to grasp.

 

“The Government must step in and give our health and care system the resources needed to provide the best possible care. With services already straining at the seams, patients will be increasingly at risk if Ministers refuse the NHS the support it needs. Next month the Chancellor in his budget must finally put the NHS on a secure financial footing for the long term.”

 

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Barry Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, and Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, comment on the government’s Trade and Customs White Papers published today.

Barry Gardiner MP said:

“We needed clarity on how the Government will ensure a level playing field for British businesses in our trade defence and trade remedy mechanisms. We got none.

“We needed clarity on how the Government will continue the third country Trade Agreements we are part of through the EU. We got none.

“We needed clarity on how the Government is laying down our schedules at the WTO and the proportion of tariff rate quotas we will keep after we leave the EU. We got none.

“Above all we needed clarity about how trade negotiations and treaties would be scrutinised in parliament. We got worse than nothing: an emphasis on speedy implementation with barely a nod to ‘due process in parliament’. This is simply unacceptable.”

Peter Dowd MP said:

“The Government’s Customs White Paper continues the ambiguity that they have made British businesses suffer under.

“While there is talk of delegating the necessary powers to the Government for post-Brexit customs arrangements, the Government goes worryingly further, seeking to undermine parliament by giving itself the power to set import duties without the normal legislative process.

“This White Paper is a missed opportunity to give importing and exporting businesses the confidence they need to continue trading and investing in the UK, nor does it address the massive under-resourcing currently being suffered at HMRC.”

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