Labour outlines concerns over Tory ‘cronyism’

Cronyism concerns have led to Labour urging companies with Conservative Party links to disclose their pandemic profits.

Research by the Opposition suggests the value of contracts awarded to firms with connections to the Conservatives amounts to almost £2 billion.

Shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal she has written to the top 10 firms with Tory connections that secured contracts during the Covid-19 crisis in a bid to unveil their profit levels.

She will also call for taxpayer money to be clawed back by the government if the contracts have failed to be delivered fully, and outline proposals to boost transparency for outsourcing and the tendering process.

Last November saw the National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending watchdog, publish a scathing report which criticised the way normal standards of transparency had been set aside.

The NAO said firms recommended by MPs, peers and ministers’ offices were given priority as the government sought PPE for the NHS in the first phase of the pandemic.

Ms Reeves, who will deliver a speech at Labour’s central London headquarters today, accused the government of having “eroded” public services and “what it means to be an honourable and transparent” government.

She said: “The public is also paying a high price for this government’s mismanagement and waste.

“People expect all of us seeking government to spend their money with care and respect – and a Labour government will,” she said.