Andy McDonald MP, Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the implications of Carillion’s collapse, said:
“Following the disastrous East Coast franchise decision, giving a contract to Carillion is yet another example of the negligent and carefree approach towards awarding contracts from Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling.
“The government should step in and take over Carillion’s rail contracts to ensure rail renewal and enhancement work is brought in-house within Network Rail along with maintenance work.”
Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the Urgent Question on the National Security Capability Review in the House of Commons, said:
“It is completely unacceptable that the Defence Secretary cannot answer the most basic questions about the Government’s defence review, which many fear is just a thinly veiled attempt to force more cuts on Britain’s Armed Forces.
“Under this Government, we have seen a dramatic fall in the size of the Army and there is a gaping black hole of £20bn in the defence equipment plan.
“The simple fact is that you cannot do security on the cheap and the British public expects the Government to ensure that defence and the Armed Forces get the funding that they deserve.”
Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to Carillion going into liquidation, said:
“The Government must act quickly to bring these public sector contracts back in-house to protect public services and ensure employees, supply chain companies, taxpayers and pension fund members are protected.
"Given £2 billion worth of Government contracts were awarded in the time three profit warnings were given by Carillion, a serious investigation needs to be launched into the Government’s handling of this matter.
"It is vital that shareholders and creditors are not allowed to walk away with the rewards from profitable contracts while the taxpayer bails out loss-making parts of the business.”
Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to reports that the UK Justice Secretary is seeking legal advice over John Worboys’ release, said:
“It is important that the victims of Worboys’ crimes, as well as the wider public, have faith in our justice system. So it is right that the Ministry of Justice seeks advice on a Judicial Review of this case, as the rules permit.
"A Judicial Review would look at whether the Parole Board’s decision was taken properly, but there are wider questions that must also be answered. The Worboys case raises many serious questions that anything less than an independent end-to-end review into the handling of the case—from the first report to the police of an attack right through to the Parole Board hearing—would let down the victims and the wider public."
John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, responding to the Government’s housing announcement, said:
“This welcome Government climb-down is further proof that Labour is winning the argument and making the running on housing.
“When Conservative Ministers voted down this Labour proposal previously they described it as ‘unnecessary regulation’ which ‘will deter investment and put up rents’.
“The Government must now rethink its ideological refusal to help renters in other areas too, starting by backing Labour’s plans for longer tenancies and controls on rents.”
Karen Buck MP, who proposed these measures in a Private Members Bill, said:
“I am delighted that the government have agreed to back this important Bill this time around.
“One million rented homes are unfit for occupation- plagued by problems such as damp, mould or extreme cold. This Bill requires landlords to ensure that all homes are fit to live in and gives tenants new rights to challenge them if they do not.
“Everyone should have the right to a decent home and this is one step towards making that happen.”
Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to talks on the future of Carillion, said:
“It has been clear for months that Carillion has been in difficulty but the Government has continued to hand over contracts to the company even after profits warnings were issued.
"Jobs and public services are now at risk because the Tories were blinded by their commitment to a failing ideological project of introducing the profit motive into taxpayer funded services.
"Labour urges the Government to stand ready to intervene and bring these crucial public sector contracts back in-house in order to protect Carillion’s employees, pension holders and British taxpayers.”
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, has made the following appointments to Labour’s frontbench team:
Shadow Minister for Pensions - Jack Dromey MP
Shadow Minister for Labour - Laura Pidcock MP
Shadow Minister for Planning - Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
Shadow Minister for Social Care and Mental Health - Paula Sherriff MP
Shadow Minister for Local Transport - Matt Rodda MP
Shadow Minister for the Treasury - Clive Lewis MP
Shadow Minister for the Treasury - Lyn Brown MP
Shadow Minister for Fire - Karen Lee MP
Shadow Minister for International Trade - Judith Cummins MP
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office - Chris Matheson MP
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office - Laura Smith MP
Shadow Minister for International Development - Dan Carden MP
Shadow Minister for International Development - Preet Gill MP
On making the appointments, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, said:
“I am pleased to make these appointments to strengthen Labour’s frontbench team, which is now a Government in waiting.
“I look forward to working with them in their new roles holding the Government to account, developing policy to transform our country and, with their Shadow Secretary of States, preparing to form a Government that will deliver for the many not the few.”
Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the news that Calais Hospital is advertising for NHS patients, said:
“This is very worrying and shows that the NHS clearly isn’t ‘better prepared’ for winter than ever before and that Theresa May really has lost control.
“Under the Tories, 14,000 hospital beds have been cut and we have 100,000 vacancies, which has left services facing unprecedented strains despite the heroic efforts of our brilliant staff.
"Patients deserve more than being forced to cross the Channel for their care.”
Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to reports that HMRC is struggling to deal with the growing number of cases of tax avoidance, said:
“The consequences of deep Tory cuts to HMRC are being felt, and risk undermining its efforts to tackle tax avoidance and evasion.
“Labour has consistently said that only a fully resourced and funded HMRC will be able to effectively tackle the scourge of tax evasion and its huge cost to the taxpayer. These latest revelations only further confirm some of our worst fears.”
Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, commenting following the PM’s speech, said:
“The Government has missed a crucial opportunity to make significant progress on the environment with this insubstantial, weak and long overdue 25 year plan.
“The plan published today simply fails to match the scale of the environmental problems we face. The lack of ambition and concrete measures is a cause for alarm in light of Britain leaving the European Union when the UK will no longer be subject to environmental protections and targets.
“As usual with this Tory government, this provides for very little concrete action. The Prime Minister’s speech and the plan itself contain very little new material, mostly repeating and repackaging existing policies and previous announcements.”