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 | NEWS FROM LABOUR |
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 Labour figures pay tribute to Michael Foot |
Labour leader and Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, paid tribute to former Labour Party leader, Michael Foot at his funeral today. Gordon Brown praised Foot as "one of the most elegant of orators, one of the greatest parliamentarians ever" and said that he lived a life "in the service of the greatest of progressive causes". The Prime Minster went on to say that "He graced the country and for those of us privileged to know him, he graced all of our lives". Neil Kinnock, who followed Foot as Labour leader paid tribute to him, saying "In thought and in word and in deed, Michael Foot was brave and brilliant." Senior Labour figures past and present attended the funeral along with family and friends....
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| Ashok Kumar MP |
The Labour Party is extremely saddened to hear about the death of Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. Mr Kumar was found dead at home this morning. Mr Kumar was 53 years old and first entered parliament in November 1991 at a by-election for the Langbaurgh constituency. He re-gained the seat at the General Election in 1997. David Walsh, Secretary of Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland CLP said "Ashok was a fine politician who served his constituency and his constituents with diligence and unswerving commitment. He was a natural fighter and a community leader." Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he was "greatly saddened" by Ashok Kumar's death, mentioning that he was a "tenacious campaigner" and "a warm and incredibly generous man". He added: "Ashok was a hard-working constituency MP who took pride in representing the people of Middlesbrough as both a councillor and MP since 1987. "His long-standing campaigns to keep shipbuilding in Teesside were respected by all sides of the House."...
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| It’s time for the Tories to come clean - Ed Balls |
Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, is today urging people to take a long hard look at the Tories plans for schools. He is challenging the Tories to come clean on how they will pay for their two flagship schools policies – new ‘free market’ schools and a national ‘pupil premium’. Earlier today, Ed Balls set out to Parliament further details of funding for schools up to 2013, following the Pre-Budget Report announcement that funding for Labour’s frontline priorities will be protected, including schools, Sure Start and 16-19 education. Ed Balls MP said: “Labour’s Pre-Budget Report made clear that while there will be tough decisions to halve the deficit within four years, we will protect frontline funding for our priorities, including schools, Sure Start and 16-19 education. “But there is an unresolved conflict in the Conservatives’ plans for education: while George Osborne is applying a downward pressure to the budget for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Michael Gove’s two flagship policies – new ‘free market’ schools and a national pupil premium – apply an upward pressure on costs. How can this circle be squared? “Michael Gove refuses to say but what is clear is that his options are limited: the costs of these two policies run into billions and those billions must come from cuts within the DCSF budget. The challenge being set to Michael Gove today is to identify what he intends to cut in order to fund his two flagship...
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| Securing the recovery is essential - Gordon Brown |
Alongside a speech by Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, on the economy, the Labour Party is today publishing A Future Fair for All: Securing the recovery, not putting it at risk. The document sets out the choice that Britain faces between growth and increasing prosperity with Labour, or a decade of austerity, low growth and low employment under the Tories. To read a copy please click here Gordon Brown said: "There is nothing pre-ordained or automatic about the upturn, either here or around the world. While we have come through the worst of this dreadful storm, the waters are still choppy. There are still real risks to the recovery. And we must be alive to them. "So the choices we will make in the coming months are just as important - and just as urgent - for families, jobs, mortgages and companies, large and small - as the difficult choices we made to protect them at the height of the storm. "We are at a turning point - a crossroads for our domestic economic recovery, where we have to choose now to maintain the stimulus until recovery is assured or cut it - and at a crossroads for the global economic governance that will shape the next decades for us and our children. "I believe that character is not about telling people what they want to hear but about telling them what they need to know. It is about having the courage to set...
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| Take a long hard look at the Tories on crime - Johnson |
When it comes to crime, David Cameron is more concerned with headlines than policies. That’s why he talks Britain down by deliberately misleading the public about crime figures even though his party has been censured by the Statistics Authority for doing this. The reality is the Conservatives have voted against Labour’s measures to fight crime including opposing changes to the retention of DNA evidence – making it harder for the police to catch criminals. And they have campaigned against the use of CCTV which reduces the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. Alan Johnson MP, Labour’s Home Secretary said: “Labour wants to see a future fair for all and today I am setting out the tough action we are taking to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. “While crime has been cut by over a third since 1997 and Labour is protecting front line policing the Conservatives have refused to say if they would protect the police budget. “Labour is clear about what we will do to keep people safe –the Tories’ refusal to reveal their own plans should not go unchallenged. Nor should their election candidates be able to continually mislead the public with dodgy crime statistics. “I am urging people today to take a long hard look at the Tories’ policies on crime and particularly the fact that they would make it harder for the police to use DNA to catch criminals. Our hard hitting short film exposes how weak the Tories are when it comes to fighting crime....
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| Michael Foot - statements from Gordon Brown and Ray Collins |
Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, commenting on the news that Michael Foot has passed away, said: "Michael Foot was a man of deep principle and passionate idealism and one of the most eloquent speakers Britain has ever heard. “He was an indomitable figure who always stood up for his beliefs and whether people agreed with him or not they admired his character and his steadfastness. “The respect he earned over a long life of service means that across our country today people, no matter their political views, will mourn the passing of a great and compassionate man. “All his life, Michael campaigned and fought for the ideals he believed in. I remember fondly my time with him and Jill Craigie, the love of his life - they both inspired me with their passion and kindness. They leave behind so many people whose grief overwhelms us today. “While Michael was a brilliant thinker – a first rate journalist and a celebrated biographer – he always knew that for the people and causes he had entered politics to represent, the Commons was not simply a forum for debate but the theatre of change. “As Leader of the Labour Party in the most difficult circumstances he was a respected and unifying figure who sought to steer it through turbulent times. And his record as a Labour minister and champion of working men and women will always be a tribute to his convictions and a source of pride...
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| For the last ten years the Conservatives have been concealing the truth - Straw |
Jack Straw MP, Labour's Justice Secretary, said: "Lord Ashcroft was initially turned down for a peerage. He was only granted his peerage on the basis that he would return to live in the UK, become fully resident, and that he would pay tax in the UK on his wider income. "Today Lord Ashcroft has been forced to admit that he has not complied with this promise and that for the last ten years the Conservatives have been concealing the truth. "Instead of paying tax in the UK on all his earned income, he has been channelling millions into the Conservative Party to help them buy this election. This is precisely what you'd expect from the old Tory party of the 80s and 90s. It just goes to show that rather than having really changed his party, David Cameron has kept it as it was. "Today David Cameron claims he proposed to change the law to force peers to pay full tax. He did not. The Tories' initial amendment left open an 'Ashcroft loophole', which would have allowed non-dom peers to avoid paying tax on their foreign income. Instead, it was this Labour Government which took action to ensure that in future every peer and MP is treated as a fully resident UK taxpayer."...
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| Action on anti-social behaviour |
Labour’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has set out the how the Government will step up the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour. Labour has taken tough action to bring down crime by over a third since 1997 but the Prime Minister said that there was still more to do – especially around anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime. The Prime Minister called on local authorities and police authorities to match the Labour Government's commitment to protecting police funding and maintain a strong police presence on the country's streets, which is key to reducing fear of crime. Gordon Brown said: "We were the first to recognise the damage that antisocial behaviour was doing to the soul of our communities. We were the first to address it. We were first to legislate to tackle it. And we will be the first to crack it. “Because I know that while we've made real progress, people are still worried about anti social behaviour. And if they are worried, I'm worried. “So that means stepping up our fight against those who terrorise our neighbourhoods; intimidate decent people on our streets; and seek to make us fearful in our own homes. “Let me tell you there is no place and no excuse for those who perpetrate antisocial behaviour in my Britain.”...
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| Gordon Brown's speech to Welsh Labour Conference |
Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, today addressed the Welsh Labour Conference. Gordon Brown said: Thank you friends – and let me say today that our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile who have suffered their country’s worst earthquake in 50 years. The people of Chile are in agony today, and Britain stands ready to help. And friends I wanted to talk about what we’ve achieved together – a Labour-led Welsh administration working with a Labour Government – a partnership that has changed Wales for the better and forever. You should be proud of the pioneering Proact and React jobs investments that have saved and created thousands of jobs. And for children and families, a nursery and early learning revolution that is transforming thousands of children's lives. For school children, the largest ever school modernisation programme in the history of our country. For Welsh teenagers and adults a modern skills for work strategy a million miles away from the so called youth opportunities of the Tory years. For young couples starting out, funds to deliver more than 6000 affordable homes. For travel throughout Wales, new investment in our railways and in the Ebbw Vale railway line – a key line connecting our communities, closed under the Tories and re-opened with Labour. And for our older heroes – Welsh Labour made Wales the first nation of the UK to offer free bus travel for pensioners. In so many ways Labour Wales has led...
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| Today's Conservatism looks more and more like a toxic cocktail of Tory traditions - David Miliband |
David Miliband MP, Labour's Foreign Secretary, today continued the themes of Gordon Brown's speech to the Labour Party's Spring Event in Warwick last weekend and exposed the lack of vision and change at the heart of the Tory Party. In a speech to Demos this afternoon, David Miliband spoke of the values that drive Labour's vision of a future fair for all and the threat that the Conservatives pose to the country. David Miliband said: "New Labour said the values never change but that the means need to be updated. The Tories want it the other way around. They say the values have changed, but, miraculously, the policies should stay the same "I recognise the Tory difficulty. We faced it after 1994. You need to reassure people you are not a risk; and you need to offer change. But while we promised evolution not revolution in the short term, like sticking to Tory spending limits, we offered a platform for radical change in the medium to long term, from the minimum wage to school investment. Cameron's got himself facing the other way round. The heart insisted on radical change in the short term - cuts in inheritance tax for the richest e states, a marriage tax allowance, immediate cuts in public spending, bring back fox hunting. But after that, the head gives the impression that it really doesn't know what to do, other than press pause on reform, offer a £1 million...
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