Labour accuse Tories of rushing sign-off for “ill-thought-through plans” before May

Senior Labour figures have accused Tory minister of trying to rush the sign-off for “ill-thought-through” plans before the general election.

One of the plans highlighted by Sadiq Khan, Shadow Justice Minister, as particularly problematic is the construction of a youth ‘super-prison’. The £83 million prison due to be built in Leicestershire has met strong criticism from children’s charities. However, the Government is trying to rush through legislation that will sign-off the deal for the prison to be built.

Khan explained why this was a mistake:

“It’s wrong for ministers to put pen to paper and sign contracts for the construction of this jail. In their headlong rush, they’ll commit a future change of government to their silly and ill-thought-through plans, lumbering the taxpayer with a huge bill for an unwanted kids’ prison … If Labour wins, I’ll cancel the secure college plans and consign to the dustbin this terrible mistake”.

Other plans that the Tories have rushed to get signed off before May include the £450m privatisation of the probation service, the £140m privatisation of the MoD’s defence maintenance division and the £1bn privatisation of East Coast rail.

Joining Khan in his criticism of the Government’s plans are Chris Bryant, Shadow Minister for the Arts, Jack Dromey, Shadow Minister of State for Policing and Vernon Coaker, Shadow Defence Minister.

Bryant has criticised the Government for trying to push through a £5bn deal to eradicate mobile phone black spots. Bryant explained to the Guardian that he’s “not yet convinced it is a good deal for the taxpayer”.

Meanwhile, Dromey, the shadow policing minister, criticised the speed with which Theresa May was trying to push through a deal (worth between £500m and £1bn) that would see private mobile phone companies manage the emergency services’ network of communication.