Press office of Dr. James Webster

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Press office of Dr. James Webster

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Hey I actually made the thing finally.
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Hon. Dr. James Webster MP
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Webster calling for the Government to withdraw MS-4
WESTMINSTER --Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Regions, Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, recently spoke to the press after learning about the sudden resignation of the Secretary of State for Works and Pensions. "I am glad that she has seen the error in her policy and resigned over her failure to tell the truth about how much poor pensioners will be hurt by this policy. However it is not just about whether or not she has realized her mistake, but if the Prime Minister retracts this policy. Otherwise a lot of pensioners are going to go cold, and it will be the Prime Minister's fault."

Dr. Webster would go into detail outlining that a policy that requires paperwork like this will fail the poorest as they are the least able to get paperwork filled out correctly and that it's a fundamental flaw in most means testing systems directly. Adding, "Today during the Prime Minister's Questions, Emily Greenwood fought for this point with the Prime Minister and he claimed that the new format would not require additional filing. I personally am very glad that Emily Greenwood fought for those poor pensioners today, and revealing the truth of the policy that the Tories were trying to obfuscate.

Dr. Webster would add. "A lot of us in Labour are hoping that the Prime Minister chooses to make the right choice, and just retract it. That's the best answer for our pensioners. If the Prime Minister does not retract the policy than it is clear to me that the Prime Minister was okay with it's effects on poor pensioners, and is happy to continue penny pinching for the average Brit, while finding billions of pounds for corporations. This is on top of the Conservatives outsourcing jobs to save a few pennies. One has to keep asking why their our billions for corporations, but massive cuts for the average Brit."

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Re: Press office of Dr. James Webster

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Darlington - The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Labour’s Dr. James Webster, continued the “Every Community Counts" With a Speech in Darlington focused on Labour's plans to develop and expand railway infrastructure. The Speech unveiled a massive a bold infrastructure plan that would bring British railways up to Modern Standards, improving the economy and protecting the environment. The Shadow Chancellor spoke unveiled the policy in Head of Steam a museum dedicated to the first steam powered passenger railway.
Please find a full transcript of Dr. Webster's speech below:
The Modern railway age was started here in Darlington, an amazing feat of engineering that Britain is famous for. The World would not be the same were it not for the great engineering minds of Britain. The Railway changed this country, allowing anyone to travel anywhere in Britain quickly. Completely changing communities throughout this country; making them stronger and more connected. However, we have clearly forgotten both the value of the community and the railways. This country has been neglecting its rail infrastructure's desperate need for revitalization for the past decade. As it has forgotten that Britain is more than just London. Rail revitalization is desperately needed in every region of this country. It’s because of the communities need that our Rail Revitalization program is a keystone policy in our Every Community counts campaign!

It is beyond time that we put local communities first and build an infrastructure plan that benefits the whole of the United Kingdom. This Government might prioritize building High Speed rail for the London airports but questions one to help the Midlands. We say no, that’s why we defeated them in Parliament to cancel their six billion pound waste. Our communities need that improvement, we need a plan that has a vision of the whole country. Everywhere in this country from Land's End to John o'Groats has been promised upgrades for almost a decade, and all of our communities have made plans based around those upgrades only to learn that they have been cancelled or downsized. We must fight for a better transit system in the whole of this Country. I plan on fighting for the transit system in this country until we have the best system in Europe. That’s what this country that started the industrial revolution deserves, to remain on top with using one of it’s best inventions.

We need to focus on improving transit to improve our economy and to protect our environment. The Labour party is prepared to put it’s money where its mouth is. We can no longer afford to wait to create the transit system that areas of this country deserve. No longer will we be a party of empty promises when it comes to transit. The Conservative Party can have that all to themselves. No, I intend to keep the pledges that I make here to you, and to the rest of Britain. Integrity needs to be a center of Governing principles. For too long politicians have been happy making pledges and going back on them just a year or two later. That’s not the philosophy that Emily Greenwood preaches, if we make a promise to a community we need to be ready to keep it. Because our communities need and make plans based on those pledges, and it does real damage to a community for someone to just cancel a project with no forewarning. We say enough is enough to the whiplash from the constant u-turning.

In that vein, Labour remains committed to the completion of the High Speed rail 2. This is a project that has been promised to so many communities, and we do not do our communities justice by searching for any excuse to cancel the project. Now we must do it right, however, the end goal should be completing it as soon as possible. I find the Government's indecisiveness around the project frankly insulting to the communities who benefit most from this project. Especially since this Government can find six billion pounds to forcibly give to airports that don’t want it. We should be able to finish HS2 and improve the economy of all of Britain. Communities benefit when they are invested in, and ignoring the midlands and calling a project promised to help the Midlands and the North the boondoggle to end all boondoggles. That is just patently false. My party will see that HS2 is completed because it’s the right thing for Local communities that have been promised it.

For too long the North has been the first to hear that it’s their part of the project that has been canceled or downsized. The average train up here in the North of England goes barely faster than a car. I say no more. It takes a shorter time to fly from London to Lisbon than to take a train from Liverpool to Newcastle. That’s completely unacceptable. The North deserves major infrastructure improvement and our solution is to back the Northern Powerhouse Rail project as outlined by Transport for the North. We will be provided 3.9 billion pounds a year to that project, until it is fully funded and completed. No more stop and starting funding strategies, or years off for review. No, we will make sure the project is completed. The Northern Powerhouse Rail network will bring the North to be on par with the rest of England on railways. It will cut the time it takes to get from Leeds to Manchester in half. It will provide the North with electrification, expansion that will improve the economy of North England. This will be the end of trains barely being faster than cars. This program represents Labour’s dedication to communities as this is a project that was planned by local communities to benefit local communities.

Secondly, my home country of Wales, has also gotten the short end of the stick by the Tories budget cuts. Electrification programs promised nearly a decade ago were canceled. Expansion plans were also cancelled. Today Labour is committing to a two billion pound electrification program that will upgrade transit in both south and north Wales. The plan is designed to help Wales see the benefits of HS-2 and to completely decrease transit times. The North Wales Main Line and the South Wales main line, will see significant upgrades and electrification, as well as expanding the rolling fleet to help decrease times. Swansea Bay will have a metro line created that will allow mass transit to help grow the area and expand its economy. While being fully passenger originally it will lay the ground works for expansion to carry freight. Finally the Wrexham-Merseyside line will also see major improvements allowing for easier, cheaper, and faster travel from the South of Wales to the North, and vice versa. It will also speed up travel times from Wales to Liverpool. Welsh transit has been in need of expansions for years, and it’s neglect has led to lower usage, but no more years of tory cancelations. It’s time for Wales to get an upgrade.

Furthermore we will be dedicated 3.5 billion pounds to the Midlands Engine Rail program that would include the Midlands Rail Hub. The plan would provide Birmingham Airport and HS2 East Midlands Hub Station connectivity to the main Midland Rail Hub proposal. We will make sure that the necessary electrification happens for compatibility and environmental protection. For the Derby-Stoke-Crewe line, the frequency of trains will be doubled, creating greater convenience, and capacity, and lowering prices. The Birmingham-Black Country-Shresbury line would increase from three trains an hour to four, and a study will be commissioned that will further look at how electrification can reduce tract times to only 45 minutes from Shrewsbury to Birmingham. Finally Nottingham-Lincoln will see a doubling in frequency. This project is deeply integrated with the other major Midlands project, HS2. Both of these projects represent a massive boost to the Midlands economy. HS2 is a project that can facilitate even further economic growth as long as we take full advantage of it. The Tories may be happy trying to cancel HS2; however, my party is dedicated to making sure that this country will see the full economic impact of further infrastructure development.

Southwest England is in desperate need of upgrades to it’s rail services. The average speed of trains is significantly slower than other regions of the United Kingdom. Our 3.5 billion pound plan to upgrade South Eastern rail will save a total of an hour and four minutes to travel from London to Penzance. The faster trains can travel in the Southwest the more the economy of the Southwest can grow. For far too long this region has been neglected from receiving proper improvements no more. We are dedicated to improving reliability by upgrading the resilience on the railway infrastructure. These upgrades will help reduce prices as well. Our proposal will fully connect the Southwest with the HS2 project allowing them to fully benefit, and will significantly decrease the time it takes to get to London from anywhere in the region. New tracks will be built, including a second route from Exter to Plymouth that will leave out of the north of Exter. All routes will be wifi and mobile friendly. Upgrades to the Southwest will help make sure that it’s rail lines are on par with the rest of the UK, and will lead to further expansion in the future.

I do not want anyone to interpret this as all the Labour party will do. No this is our first step, what we endeavor to start with. The next Labour government will spend the full length of our term fighting for a better infrastructure. Improvement alone is not good enough. We must aim high for our communities. I pledge not to call it a completed job until we have the best transit system in Europe. With community lead projects we will make sure our communities get the economic benefits they deserve from these programs. Today marks the first step in a long journey, but I do not plan on stopping anytime soon, because every community matters.
Full Policy details:
Midlands: https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/m ... -unveiled/
North: https://transportforthenorth.com/wp-con ... Glance.pdf
Southwest: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... qka6rD2gS2
Wales:
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/p ... stment.pdf
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Re: Press office of Dr. James Webster

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Webster fights for the greater inclusion of people with disabilities
WESTMINSTER -- Earlier today the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Dr. James Webster tabled an amendment to the Inclusion in Transport Act 2019. Webster's amendment which gives the proposed Office for Transit Access and Equity powers to act as a single regulator in regards to regulations that deal with people with disabilities, and mandates the inclusion of voices from that community. Webster's amendment significantly empowered the Office beyond the original legislation and gave it a clear purpose that will allow for real improvements to be made to the Transportation system. The Amendment mandates that the board for the Office for Transit Access and Equity have a majority of it's members be people with disabilities. By having people on the board that have experienced the hardships first hand, the Inclusive Transport Strategy can continued to be improved and developed to be as inclusive and far reaching as possible.


Dr. Webster said about the amendment, "to make sure that we have a strong second, third, and fourth step; we have to make sure that we take a strong first step. I am happy to have had the amendment accepted into the legislation this amendment improves the legislation to the lofty goals that the Chancellor Spoke about. Especially in regards to listening to the community. It's a key part of the Every Community Counts campaign that the Labour Party is focused on. I am proud that I can continue that spirit by offering an amendment addressing the concerns put in the Travel Fair report. I look forward to continue to fight for more inclusive Transport in the future, and I will be making sure that the Government takes the next steps."
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Webster says no to Government's poor tax
WESTMINSTER -- Recently announced in the Government's budget is massive increases in the tobacco and alcohol duties while stating the Government was trying to discourage their usage. Dr. James Webster called the move a disgrace, pointing out how the substances were addictive and a massive increase overall hurts people who can least afford it. Doubling that tax means someone who just smokes one pound a week has to pay 228 pounds a year just in the tobacco duty, a pack a day smoker would pay over 1500 pounds a year the tax. Considering that the tobacco consumption is quite inelastic, meaning that people will still buy it no matter the price, it's unlikely that it will achieve the stated goal by the Government. With no programs announced, or ring fenced money to the NHS designed to lower usage of tobacco and alcohol the Government is trying to balance the budget of drinkers and smokers. The tobacco duty has long been seen by economists as a highly regressive tax and doubling it creates more inequality. Dr. Webster would go on to explain why it's regressive, sticking to the arguments of taking a larger percentage of someone's income a year the poorer they are.

Dr. Webster would then go on to state: "The biggest issue is that it hurts the most vulnerable, the people most in need of help. A study in 2017 by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that heaviest drinkers are unlikely to be discouraged by higher taxes. So this government has proposed a way for people addicted to substances to continue to get poorer and poorer. Which is far worse when you consider that someone who is unemployed is far more likely to smoke than someone who is employed. The government didn't even ringfence any of the increased taxes to help pay for programs to discourage smoking or go to the NHS, they just decided to levy a poor tax on them. There are far better ways they could have decided to fight smoking such as: provide funding to programs, or increase the age at which you can buy tobacco products. The Government has once again sent the tax man to poor people and not the wealthy.
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Webster decries the Government’s education plan as further institutionalizing generational poverty
WESTMINSTER -- Deputy Leader of the Labour Party: Dr. James Webster called the government’s education plan a “disgrace, and an insult to all our hard working students and their parents.” He would continue by going point by point starting with the testing at age eleven. On that he stated: “the Government is going to determine the life paths of nearly every new student at 11 years old. Under the Government's plan, when your child is age eleven, a test that has less transparency than Hogwarts’s Sorting Hat will determine if your child can ever go to university. "So, if you cannot afford a tutor for your child, and even if they are the smartest kid in their class but struggle at tests, they won’t be going to university. This decision does nothing but continue the long history of generational poverty in this country.” Webster would continue to explain that parents who could afford a public school can completely avoid this system, and even bypass the test for their student. He stated that this government continues to favor the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Webster would then turn his focus on the higher education plan, stating “Parents understand the fundamental difference between our tuition fees plan, and that of the Tories. We are going to completely abolish them. Period. End of sentence. We aren’t going to prevent your child from having the best life possible and want to make sure that all the pupils who want to go to university can afford to do so. The Government is instituting a “Poor pupils tax” in which the university will get a percentage of your child’s income for however many years it says on the contract they sign as basically a child. Meaning if you can’t afford to pay for university when your child gets there, they could be significantly more financially hampered than what they already were. These are essentially more predatory student loans made to take advantage of your children. That’s without even factoring in that the Government says more funding will go to areas that make the university more money and not where it’s best for students or Britain. We cannot allow the Government’s insidious attack on equality of opportunity to pass. I pledge to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t.”
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Webster speaking in Cardiff and releasing his leadership platform
Ladies and Gentleman,

Thank you all for joining me today in Cardiff. My favorite part of riding the train back from London is the time it gives me to remember not only where I’ve come from but the journey that got me here. Thinking about life decisions, why I entered politics. Though I can safely say my biggest regret in life was that I didn’t marry my amazing wife sooner. laughs However, something we have to remember at upper level politics is that it isn’t about us. It’s not just about our stories, and our ideas, but it’s about the movement that we lead and the people in that movement. I think too often people forget that. We have had many major successes over the last few years under the leadership of my great friend Emily Greenwood, and the hard work of every member of this movement. She was a great leader, and I know that she would’ve made an excellent Prime Minister. But ultimately the movement is bigger than just her, it’s bigger than her and the rest of our direct team, it’s a movement that includes a broad coalition of people who campaign and work hard for this movement. It’s for those people who have worked so hard over the last few years that we need a leader that is ready to continue the successes of Emily. The work that we all put into this movement has been resonating with the people of Britain. The hard work of each individual is the reason we are leading in the polls today. It's because we cannot take the effort of a single volunteer for granted that we need a leader that is ready to build upon her vision to deliver us a Government that will make people’s lives better. We have a real opportunity to improve the lives of millions of Britons, and tackle poverty in this country. This goes beyond just me, but I am running in this election to continue fighting for this movement and make sure that the last few years that we all have worked together are not wasted.

In a lot of ways I spent the last few years as Emily’s right hand man. I served my party dutifully and delivered us a number of major victories against the Tories. We defeated Heathwick that threatened our environment, stopped their winter fuel payment plan that would’ve left many of the most vulnerable of our elderly in the cold. We stopped their hare-brained scheme to put police in schools. We stopped their attempt to cut the foreign aid budget. We have held them to account still to this day promising action on social care and then doing nothing. I worked with my friends in the Shadow Cabinet to build policies that we strongly believe will improve people’s lives. If I’m elected leader, the creation of a National Care Service will remain a flagship policy of our movement. We will also continue our fight on knife crime, our fight for better transportation, improving pensions and welfare programs, building a stronger NHS, and our push for Making Every Community Count. The Tories might think that’s just a slogan, but think about it for a moment, what have the Tories done for local communities? Since 2010 they’ve dramatically cut funding for local communities. They’re talking about overruling local governments on green spaces, and gutting local education. They abandoned Rural and Coastal ones after their Brexit deal. They said improving local transit isn’t their problem, when they have significant control over the budget of our local communities. They continue to prevent local communities from having the resources they need to tackle knife crime. So of course a party that doesn’t believe in giving our local communities the help they need, would believe Making Every Community Count is just a slogan. They miss the vision and the principles behind it. That’s the record of Emily’s leadership. That’s the record I was proud to serve under, and that’s the record I want to continue and build on.

Under my leadership I will make sure that the Movement has a renewed focus on the issues that matter most to Britain. We cannot assume that we have leadership on any issue that we do not continue to fight for day in and day out. As a member of the backbench, a member of the Shadow Cabinet, and as Deputy Leader, I made sure that I gave this movement everything I had everyday. If I have the honour to be elected the Leader of our Movement, I will lead this party from the front. I cannot ask any member of this movement to give even an ounce more effort than I plan on giving myself. I want people to know that I am there fighting with them, and not some entity that doesn’t understand exactly what they are working towards. Everyday I don’t want to go to bed, unless I know that there is nothing more that I can do for our movement. Because it’s not about me, it’s about the people whose lives we are trying to make better by focusing on eliminating poverty, improving health, being tough on crime and the causes of crime, improving the environment, and building a stronger, better economy. Everyone should be entitled to feel safe in their communities. No one should have to go hungry, or rough sleep. We cannot leave a ruined environment for our children. No one who works a full time job should be making anything less than a living wage. We cannot address these goals of our movement if we spend the next few months and years fighting amongst ourselves. The most important thing in a leader of our movement is someone willing to work with people he might have disagreements with and work to find the solutions that are the best for Britain. There’s a lot of hope for the future, we just need a leader ready to build up our movement and continue the hard work of every member of it. A New Dawn is here, and we are going to make things better in Britain. Make people’s lives better. Most importantly of all we will end poverty in a generation.

The New Dawn: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cI4 ... ziguwz0snp
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Dr. James Webster gives Crime Speech in Hull
Hull-- Dr. James Webster started the day in Hull with a meeting with supporters to discuss the issues and hear the stories of his support. After meeting with supporters he gave speech to the Kingston upon Hull North CLP outlining how his plan to be tough on Crime and Tough on the Causes of Crime is the most affective way we can address crime in Britain. After the speech, Dr. Webster canvassed with supporters and passed out leaflets detailing his plan to address crime.
My friends,

Everyone should feel safe communities. No one should have to worry about being the next victim of a crime. Unfortunately, here in Hull and around Britain, that is not the case. The reasons are amazingly simple, the soft on crime Tories have left our communities out to dry when it comes to tackling the crime. They cut the number of bobbies on the street, which clearly means there are less officers trying to keep the community safe. They refuse officers a decent wage they deserve for doing such an important job for our communities. In the last few years, the Tories soft on crime mentality has ramped up which only leaves our communities less safe. They continue to refuse to give our officers the resources they need to fight knife crime. The last Labour Government showed the way to stop crime, it’s to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. For over a decade while Labour led this country, crime went down every single year.

As the leader of the Labour Movement, I will make sure we are campaigning to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Labour’s two-fold approach has proven successful and will make sure that our communities are the safest they’ve ever been. Addressing crime is one of the most important issues that Britons care about, unfortunately I am the only candidate in this race that has a plan for how a Labour Government will make our communities safer. I do not see how you can win a general election without actually dealing with the bread-and-butter issues that matter to Britain. Not under my leadership, for our movement to be successful in removing the Tories from power we have to make sure we hold these Tories to account for being soft on crime, and that’s by continuing to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.

When I say we are going to be tough on crime, I mean we are going to make sure our communities have more bobbies, and we will make sure those bobbies come from the very communities they are serving. A Labour Government under my leadership will make sure that our brave officers get paid what they deserve for keeping our communities safe. We also have to make sure that our officers have the tools they need to fight crime, especially knife crime. We need to stand by the tough on crime mentality of the Greenwood era, and that includes our proposals on stop and search. Which is why my shadow budget included an extra 200 million pounds to fight knife crime, an increase in the number of police officers, and giving them a raise. However, these are things I have represented for years. We need to look at what else needs to be done to keep our communities safe. It is about investing in our communities in ways that help make people safer. Under my leadership a Labour Government would provide local governments with funding they can use that money to create solutions that help reduce crime. For example, larger communities might use the funds to install blue streetlights which the evidence does show lowers crimes and suicides in the cities that have installed them. We must be tough on all crime; we need to do far more to tackle domestic violence. Under my leadership Labour will provide extra funding to police departments that will be used to train officers on domestic abuse and similar crimes. Labour can be the tough on crime party, we must have a leader ready to make our communities safer and protect people from criminals.

However, it’s not just enough to be tough on crime, Labour should also be tough on the causes of crime. Meaning that we need to do more to address poverty, improve opportunities, addressing our mental health crisis, and invest in our youth. My efforts to fight poverty by making sure that no one has to choose between stealing food and going hungry, and that less people are rough sleeping. Addressing poverty just this way will decrease the number of crimes of desperation and will reduce dramatically and we will be protecting one of the most vulnerable populations from being the victims of crimes. Not only that but by making sure the minimum wage is a real living wage, and that our welfare programs work for the people most in need we could eliminate crimes of desperation. By improving opportunities, we will make sure there are less people who can be easily recruited to sell drugs to our children and to join gangs. Under my leadership we are going to improve opportunities by expanding our investment in our local communities, businesses, and lifelong education. We must do more to address mental health in this country, in my shadow budget I provided extra funding for mental health as part of our investment in the NHS. However, we need to go further. A Labour government that I lead not only will be increasing funding for mental health every year, but we are going to build a concrete plan on how we cannot only expand access to mental health services but also how we decrease stigmatization of mental health. Actually, getting people the help, they need will reduce crime related to mental health issues. Finally, we need to invest in our youth in ways that make people feel less excluded by mainstream society. We should make sure that Labour gives our most vulnerable communities the funding they need to invest in community centres, job training programs, and youth activities. So, that all communities have less people predisposed to committing criminal activities.

Under a Labour Government we must do more for the victims of crimes. I pledged in my platform that Labour will propose a victim’s law. That law will make sure that people who report crimes, especially those affecting children and sexual offences have the protections they need to offer their evidence without being repeated and overly aggressive cross-examinations, by giving judges statutory duty to protect highly vulnerable victims. It would give professionals a duty to act in what they think is in the best interest in the child. Children do not know what exactly is out of the ordinary and what they should not have to go throw every day therefore it is imperative for the adults they trust to act in their best interests, we do have to recognize that in certain situations mandatory reporting can lead to children not talking about the abuse for fear of an immediate investigation. No child should have to endure abuse because they think it is normal or that they are worried about an investigation. That is why we must entrust the adults to act in their best interest. We will expand funding for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to make sure that victims of crimes receive the help they need. Including raising the maximum income so that people who need help can receive it. Our expansion of mental health services should also include making sure that we have more specialists for mental health issues related to trauma from crimes so victims that need it can have access to experts ready to help them.

My past record as being both tough on crime, and tough on the causes of crime speaks for itself, however the plan I have laid out here will build on the successes shown by previous Labour Governments that we can make our communities safer than ever before. We must make investments into our local communities to build opportunities and to tackle poverty. While at the same time we are looking to make our communities safer with more officers and giving officers the tools, they need to fight crime. Not only that but under my leadership we will make sure that we are giving help to victims of crime so that we are actively not making a difficult time harder. We cannot afford to give the Tories any leeway for how their soft on crime approach led to our sky-high crime rates today. Instead, we need a leader ready to take them to task on their failures and show Britain how we will be better from day one.
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Re: Press office of Dr. James Webster

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Hon. Dr. James Webster MP
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Dr. James Webster TUC Speech
TUC-- Transcript of Dr. James Webster’s Speech to the TUC
Comrades,
Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. The Labour Movement was founded by trade unions, and have always been an important part of our movement. All the political accomplishments Labour has made over the decades, comes from the hard work that Labour unions made in building this movement and standing with us. We can never remove the Tories from government without working closely with unions, and if we even could, a Labour Government that forgot the importance of unions in the fight for better worker’s rights would likely be no better than the Tories for workers’ rights. Under my leadership, trade unions will absolutely remain an important part of our movement. We need to make sure that our workers are getting better pay, safer working conditions, and more rights. Not only that but when we get to government we have to step up where the Tories have constantly failed and deliver real social care, by creating the National Care Service.
I spent the last few years working side by side with a great Labour leader, Emily Greenwood. During that time, I worked as a member of a leadership team where everyone understood that when working people succeed, we all succeed. Our team worked to make sure that in the next election that Labour will finally remove a Tory Government that has allowed companies to earn record profits without increasing the wages of their workers. This Government built the post-recession economy to favor profits over people: a status quo that will not change until we throw those Tories back in opposition where they belong. However, until the election is called Labour must stand strong against any attack on workers that these Tories attempt. Labour needs to remember that on every issue we can build a strong coalition to defeat the Tories, and until an election is called, we need a leader willing to find that broad coalition, like I did to defeat Heathwick and privatisation of Channel 4. Once in Government we must start to build a new economy that makes sure workers receive the pay they deserve for over a decade of hard work with less and less returns.
Under my leadership Labour will continue our fight to improve the NHS. We are going to improve access to care by building more hospitals, something this Government’s budget failed to do, but something I made sure to do in my Shadow Budget. We need to make sure we remove the Tories’ efforts to harm the NHS by focusing on competition instead of quality of care. We need more doctors to give great care to people. We need an education plan that encourages more people to study medicine and we need to ensure our NHS professionals, especially nurses, are paid the wages they deserve, a five percent increase in pay in our first year in government. A Labour Government will spend the next parliament making sure that the NHS is strong as it’s ever been before. However, any improvement to our NHS means making sure the NHS Wales and NHS Scotland are given the tools needed to improve care by addressing their needs. That is why I am supporting a review on the Barnett funding formula based around need that will help both countries deliver the healthcare they deserve. Improving our NHS will lead to better care for all. Labour can never forget how important building a strong NHS is for our workers in making sure that they always have healthcare that looks out for them and their families.
I outlined my vision for the economy we would build in a speech I delivered last year, and I made sure that my Shadow Budget reflected that vision. Labour needs a leader that it can trust will deliver on the promises, with a record that they fight for higher wages, and for workers’ rights. I made sure in my Shadow Budget to show that a Labour Government would absolutely mean higher wages for public service workers. They have gone for far too long being underpaid and underappreciated by this Tory Government and that must end. I have said on several occasions that the minimum wage needs to be a real living wage in this country. No one should have to work a full-time job, should earn less than what is needed to live. I stood on this stage two years ago calling for a worker’s bill of rights, and under my leadership a Labour government will absolutely make it law, that law will guarantee the rights of workers to unions and close loopholes that companies like Uber and Amazon have used to prevent unionisation. We will ban exploitative zero-hour contracts, people need security and stability in their lives and these exploitative contracts do nothing but hurt our workers.
We must build on the Greenwood era if we are going to beat the Tories, not spend the next year trying to tear everything down and replace every good policy that we have pitched allowing the Tories to regain their foothold on several issues. I have said it nearly every day as leader I will continue the fight for the National Care Service that my great friend Ashton Edwards proposed. But to build on the record of Greenwood we have to recognize there is far more we can do with education. I stand for a National Education Service, and will be working with teachers, unions, and parents to build that service so that it works best for our students and nation. We cannot allow this Government to set education back fifty years while finding more ways to exploit the lives of our students. Finally, Labour needs to address the paid leave gap, by making sure workers do not lose most of their income when taking the paid time off. As leader Labour will fight to make sure that paternity leave is just as strong as maternity leave. By making sure that we take this action we can help eliminate the pay gap and make sure that childcare responsibilities are better balanced in families.
When Labour talks about how we are going to bring Green Collar jobs to Britain, we must discuss how we will make sure every one of those jobs are unionised and that we are not setting up workers to be exploited. When we encourage investment in the UK by these companies it will be with the expectations that the work forces have strong unions to protect their workers and that we really are looking out for both our environment and our workers. I have outlined in my platform how I will encourage investment in Britain. However, it will not work if we fail to protect the rights of workers, and the jobs of workers we have now. To reach our net zero goal we will be fighting for more clean energy and while we are doing that, we have to protect the jobs of those already employed in energy. Unlike the Prime Minister, I am committed to protecting the jobs of automotive workers while car manufactures switch their factories to electric. The Prime Minister stated that he will ban petrol cars, which as this Government has shown they do not consider the repercussions of their actions and how it will affect the average automotive worker. My plan is to make sure that we encourage companies to switch production over electric cars to make sure our workers can keep their jobs. My plan is the only published plan that makes sure we are not putting the burden of protecting our planet on our workers.
Join me comrades as the Labour Movement continues its historic fight to represent and fight for working people for the good of the country, and to protect their rights and jobs. I stood side by side with Emily Greenwood on the “Every Community Counts” campaign as our party fought for the average person and their communities. However, today I am calling for a New Dawn that will continue the aims of Every Community Counts but expand on it to focus on building a Strong Britain for everyone. Today, tomorrow, the day after that, I will still be fighting for workers’ rights and building a New Economy that works for the people who work the hardest. We are going to bring a real living wage to Britain. We are going to create a National Care Service. We are going to build a green collar workforce. And we will do it by working with the unions in this country because the Labour movement does not exist without them. Under my leadership we will go into the next election, and we will make sure the Profit over People Tory party is removed from government and a true working-class government replaces them.

Thank you.
ENDS
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