Tories are scared of Corbyn – McDonnell’s reaction to chancellor’s speech

This is the full statement published by John McDonnell after the keynote speech delivered by Philip Hammond, the chancellor, at Conservative Party conference today.

“After 40 wasted minutes speaking, and seven wasted years of Tory economic failure the country expected to see the chancellor change course. But instead, after a year, in the job he is continuing down the path of his predecessor and clinging to an old economic model that fails the many. It was a speech that contained more baseless smears on Labour than Tory policy announcements. But it betrays how fearful the Tories are of the challenge posed by Jeremy Corbyn.

“There was nothing of real substance on infrastructure, on tackling the housing crisis, the funding shortfall in our NHS and care system, and nothing at all for hard working families who are struggling to keep up with rising prices.

“The chancellor this morning admitted he will borrow £10bn for a housing policy that will only help a few, and which is derided by many of his predecessors even in his own party. Yet he will do nothing for the low paid struggling under the Tories’ universal credit mismanagement, or hard pressed public-sector workers. Real wages are lower today than when the Tories first came to power.

“On infrastructure spending, he has no plans to end the north-south divide on infrastructure spending. Philip Hammond has announced a mere drop in the ocean compared to what has already been cut, with government investment spending £19bn lower than in 2010. Communities in the north of England will not be fooled when this government plans to invest in transport just one-fifth in the North of what it will spend in London.

“The next Labour government will bring an end to the Tory economy built on debt, and create a country of high wage, high skill jobs, for the many not the few.”