Thank you to everyone who wrote to me about cosmetics testing on animals.

As someone who has been an animal lover all my life, I’m proud to belong to a party with a strong record on animal welfare. During the last Labour government, we passed the 2004 Hunting Act and the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, and we were also the party that introduced a ban on the use of animal testing for cosmetic products in 1998.

Our record stands in stark contrast to the Conservatives’ recent time in office. I’m particularly disappointed that the Tories have abandoned their manifesto commitment to pass the Kept Animals Bill, which would have ended the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, tackled puppy smuggling, and banned the keeping of primates as pets. The simple truth is the Tories can’t be trusted with animal rights, which is why Labour will continue to press them to keep to their promise to pass this important law.

And it’s frankly shocking that after twenty-five years of the Labour ban on animal testing for cosmetics, the Conservatives quietly allowed such testing to resume in 2019. While I’m glad that – thanks to pressure from Labour and diligent campaigners such as yourself – they have now bowed to pressure and reinstated a ban, it should never have taken a public backlash to force such a reversal. That’s why we urgently need a Labour government in office who take animal welfare seriously because we know it’s the right thing to do, unlike the Conservatives who are quite happy to talk the talk while actively rolling back animal rights protections and hoping they won’t get found out.

Please know that I will always stand up for animal rights and a ban on cosmetics testing on animals.