Will Labour curb fat cats in own back yard?

Overheard in the Commons: Two Labour MPs talking about the archbishop of Canterbury, who is taking a three-month sabbatical. ‘as an anglican, I welcome a threemonth break from Justin Welby.’

As the Government jumps from one Covid mishap to another, Labour is frothing at the mouth at the tories’ use of private companies to solve its logistical problems.

In particular, serco has been singled out by Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office Minister, for being one of the biggest private provider of Government services.

Certainly serco’s bosses will be laughing all the way to the bank — the company expects profits to hit £165 million after securing £410 million of test-and-trace contracts.

Predictably, Reeves is incensed: ‘If the Government can’t bear to curb its obsession with pouring money into big companies over our local public health teams, it surely can see that this wasteful approach lacks basic common sense and i sn’t reducing the transmission of the virus. It’s time to sack serco.’

Which is all very well. But I can’t help but wonder why she isn’t urging Labour to do the same.

After all, serco has multi-million pound contracts with Labour councils i ncluding hounslow, Milton Keynes, Newham and North tyneside. And surely Ms Reeves — the MP for Leeds West — is aware that serco signed a five-year £1 million contract with Leeds City Council in June?