MP, Labour's Shadow
Chancellor, commenting on Philip Hammond's
Mansion House speech this morning, said:
"The Chancellor has made clear this morning that the message
remains the same - austerity will continue. The Tories have
learnt nothing from the General Election, and the last seven
wasted years of economic failure. The Conservatives have no
understanding of the depth of suffering, stress and insecurity
their long austerity regime has caused.
"And we have seen the Chancellor again trying to
distance himself from the position of his Prime Minister on
Brexit. It just shows further disarray at the top
of government. The fact that there is clearly such a serious
split between Number 10 and 11 is very worrying and only helps to
undermine our country ahead of the Brexit negotiations.
“It further shows just how weak a position is in. And raises the serious
question of: how can she negotiate Brexit when her own Chancellor
is so publicly disputing her position on Brexit and briefing
against his own Cabinet colleagues?
“The truth is that the Government’s spin of over a “hard” or soft
“Brexit”, is just a smokescreen to paper over the cracks of the
divide at the very heart of this Tory Government. The reality is
that they are really planning a Brexit for the few by turning our
county into a tax haven off the coast of Europe, which diminishes
workplace rights and undermines working people’s living
standards.
“Labour has called from day one for the Chancellor to act on
gaining assurances over our stake in the EIB, and it has taken
him a year to raise a finger; and now he has, all he is offering
businesses in our country in way of support to mitigate any risks
from the loss of this resource is a drop in the ocean from the
actual support they will really need.
“Only a Labour Government will secure a Brexit for the many that
will put jobs and the economy first, and ensure that working
families and small businesses are protected from any challenges
our country faces after leaving the EU.”
