Labour today publishes a damning and lengthy dossier documenting
the extensive waste under the Prime Minister during his time as
Chancellor and as Chief Secretary to the Treasury - a total so
far of £26.8 billion
With the country in economic decline after 13 years of Tory
failure, the public is crying out for a Prime Minister who will
get a grip of the public finances and provide responsible and
competent management of taxpayers' money.
But Labour claims this dossier shows Sunak's past track record
shows that he will do anything but.
In this report are just 100 examples of wasteful government
spending or departmental losses that took place under his watch
from 2019-20 to 2021-22, costing the taxpayer a total of up to
£26.8 billion, in each case with nothing to show in return for
the money written off.
From the vast and inexcusable amounts lost due to fraud and
faulty PPE during the pandemic, to the relatively small but
pointless vanity projects so common in recent years, this is a
catalogue of waste that the man in control of government spending
did nothing to stop, and often directly caused.
The dossier includes examples of waste including huge sums lost
through poor procurement in the Ministry of Defence, £271 million
wasted on storage of unused PPE; and – instead of cracking down
on criminal gangs through the National Crime Agency as Labour has
called for – the government spending £10,685 a day on consultancy
for small boats instead.
Launching the dossier today, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor
, said:
“The British people deserve a government that will treat taxpayer
money with respect.
“With our strong fiscal rules and our Office for Value for Money,
Labour will root out waste and make our economy stronger.
“What all these 100 examples have in common is that – while the
Labour Party, the Public Accounts Committee, the National Audit
Office, and the media were able to expose and challenge much of
the waste identified – the man whose job it was for three years
to scrutinise this spending never lifted a finger to stop the
money being thrown away, and in many cases, ignored direct
warnings of the risks.
“Over those three years, billions of pounds that could have
transformed Britain were instead handed over to fraudsters and
crony contractors.
“This dossier is a badge of shame for the Prime Minister and his
failing Tory government.
“Labour will treat every pound of taxpayer money with the respect
it deserves.”
Ends
Notes:
Full dossier attached
