John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, in response to comments made today by Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said:

“I wholeheartedly support the call by Andrew Tyrie for the Government to bring back its previous method of assessing the distributional impact of its spending decisions.

“Under the guise of austerity, the Tories have introduced a stream of changes to tax, welfare and public spending that have hit vulnerable households hardest. To employ a methodology that conceals the impact of the Government’s policies on Britain’s poorest gives lie to the Prime Minister’s claim that she will govern in the interests of the many rather than a privileged few.”

ENDS