The Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell MP, will set out the party’s plans for Essex at the ‘Road to Rebuilding the Economy’ conference in Colchester today.

John McDonnell’s visit to Colchester, comes after the Shadow Chancellor unveiled plans at Labour’s annual conference to deliver free personal care and a full-time average working week of 32 hours, with no loss of pay.

With an election imminent, McDonnell will use the latest stage of his nationwide tour to highlight Labour’s programme for government.

John McDonnell said Labour is stepping up its campaign to expose the impact of Tory austerity measures on Essex communities and highlight Labour’s plans to revive the county’s economy.

The Shadow Chancellor’s UK-wide tour starts again today in the Essex seat of Colchester, where Labour is seeking to overturn a Tory majority of 5,677.

Speaking ahead of the event in Colchester, John McDonnell said:

“Nearly 10 years of austerity has hit communities in Colchester and Essex as a whole very hard.

“British towns, coast to coast, have lost their traditional industries.

“Nothing has filled that gap and people in Essex have been let down badly by the Tory government, which has inflicted over nine years of austerity on these communities.

“Our struggling high streets are one of the clearest symptoms of the government’s failure to invest in our communities.

“Labour’s five-point plan for British high streets will help breathe life back into our struggling town centres.

“And Labour will deliver a fair deal for Essex’s coastal communities.

“Labour’s plan to introduce a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020 will boost pay for over half a million low paid jobs in the East of England.

“We will put in place changes needed to reduce average full-time hours to 32 a week within the next decade. A shorter working week with no loss of pay

“The next Labour government will introduce personal care free at the point of use in England, as part of our new National Care Service.

“We will increase income tax on the top 5%, the people who can afford it, who can pay a little bit more. But also tackle tax dodging and reverse some of the giveaways to the corporations.

“Labour will tax the rich and giant corporations to end austerity, properly fund public services free at the point of use, and rebuild our economy so it works for the many, not the few.”