Dossier lays naked £40billion price of Tory ‘waste, sleaze and chaos’
The £40billion price tag of five years of Tory chaos and “waste” is laid bare today in a damning dossier.
Taxpayers’ money was squandered on useless PPE, cancelled deportation flights, the churn of ministers – and even a top Tory’s libel bill. Compiled by Labour, it includes 118 examples of the Conservatives’ “waste, sleaze and chaos” since 2019 – spanning Rishi Sunak’s time at the Treasury and in No10.
The dossier claims over £16billion was spent on PPE that was “never fit for use” and the “mismanagement” of procurement during the Covid crisis. Earlier this week it was reported a massive £1.4billion worth of PPE had been destroyed or written off from a single deal – the most wasteful deal of the pandemic.
Other examples picked out by Labour include Cabinet Minister Michelle Donelan’s £34,000 libel case fees after she falsely accused an academic of supporting Hamas. The sum included a £15,000 damages pay-out, plus an additional £19,000 in costs.
Listen to our punchy General Election podcast The Division Bell
Listen to our new The Division Bell podcast, hosted by Mirror political editor John Stevens and Express political editor Sam Lister.
Each episode will see John and Sam go head-to-head on a political topic – so listeners can expect a lively discussion!
New episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the General Election campaign, with a special edition on the morning after polling day.
Labour’s “waste” dossier also cited figures showing the scale of the cost of the turnover of ministers. The total ministerial severance bill for 2022-3 came to £933,086, according to Labour – which has pledged reforms to rules on the pay-outs.
The party claimed the neglect of the NHS resulted in over £176million being spent on hiring private ambulances and taxis to take patients to hospital in 2022 – double the figure in 2018. Labour also took aim at the Tory government’s handling of Freedom of Information.
The party said between 2020-1 and 2023-4 government departments had spent over £100,000 challenging decisions by the Information Commissioner. In another case, Labour highlighted the £2.6million splashed on the government’s Downing Street briefing room – despite plans for daily White House-style press conferences being dropped.
Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “Rishi Sunak didn’t lift a finger as £40 billion was splurged, squandered and wasted on his watch – without a second thought for taxpayers who footed the bill.
“Labour will treat taxpayers’ money with care. We’ll get tough on waste by creating a new Office of Value for Money, tackling pandemic-related fraud with a Covid Corruption Commissioner and strengthening the Office for Budget Responsibility.
“The choice at this election couldn’t be clearer – more waste, sleaze and chaos with Rishi Sunak’s Tory party, or change with Labour’s plans to turbocharge growth, reform our public services and bring stability to the public finances. But that change will only happen if people vote Labour on 4 July.”
The dossier contrasts sharply with the government pledging an efficiency drive to cut £5.5billion of “waste” – with then Chancellor Mr Sunak said to be spearheading the move.
In March 2022, the government boasted: “At the request of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak will spearhead a new drive on efficiency, effectiveness and economy in government spending to ensure departments are delivering the highest quality services at the best value.”
At the time, Mr Sunak was quoted saying: “During these challenging times it’s vital that every single penny of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash is being spent well. The current level of waste across government is simply not acceptable – which is why we’re doubling down on wasteful spending and launching an efficiency drive to make £5.5 billion worth of savings.”
A Conservative spokesman described Labour’s dossier as “desperate”.
