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1.29pm GMT
After the general election of 1918 Stanley Baldwin famously complained that the House of Commons was full of “a lot of hard-faced men who look as if they had done very well out of the war”. They may not be men, they may not be hard-faced, and most of them aren’t in the House of Commons, but it is increasingly clear that there are a lot of people who have done very well out of the coronavirus crisis, and some of them have been linked to the Tories. The government has been spending billions, normal tendering processes have short-circuited and, when the NAO finally goes through the books, it is likely to conclude that not all money has been spent wisely. Jolyon Maugham and the Good Law Project have been campaigning on this issue for months, but today was the first time Sir Keir Starmer majored on the subject at PMQs.
Starmer is undoubtedly firing in the right direction. But today his attempt to weaponise the topic wasn’t particularly successful. He had a good moment with his gotcha question about the number of face masks procured under a £150m contract (“none”), but for various reasons the scandal charge did not stick as well as it might have done.
12.47pm GMT
At PMQs Sir Keir Starmer mentioned new research showing that the government has spent £130m on PR this year. Labour has now issued a press release with more details.
The party says it is demanding “more transparency on taxpayer value for money on this spend”.
Over £130m has been spent on communications consultancies since January, Labour has today reported. 23 different communications consultancies have been used by the UK government since the year began.
As questions swirl around the government’s decision to spend £670,000 on PR consultants for one official, the analysis reveals the amount of taxpayer money being spent on agencies – including many with established links to senior Tories.
Continue reading…Latest updates: Labour leader criticises PM over Covid contracts to private companies and job losses amid delayed furlough extensionEngland students to get six-day window to get home before ChristmasMass testing ‘will allow students to return in January’Austerity left north of England more vulnerable to Covid, report saysTotnes concerns reflect UK-wide rise in conspiracy theoriesGlobal coronavirus updates – live 1.29pm GMTAfter the general election of 1918 Stanley Baldwin famously complained that the House of Commons was full of “a lot of hard-faced men who look as if they had done very well out of the war”. They may not be men, they may not be hard-faced, and most of them aren’t in the House of Commons, but it is increasingly clear that there are a lot of people who have done very well out of the coronavirus crisis, and some of them have been linked to the Tories. The government has been spending billions, normal tendering processes have short-circuited and, when the NAO finally goes through the books, it is likely to conclude that not all money has been spent wisely. Jolyon Maugham and the Good Law Project have been campaigning on this issue for months, but today was the first time Sir Keir Starmer majored on the subject at PMQs.Starmer is undoubtedly firing in the right direction. But today his attempt to weaponise the topic wasn’t particularly successful. He had a good moment with his gotcha question about the number of face masks procured under a £150m contract (“none”), but for various reasons the scandal charge did not stick as well as it might have done. 12.47pm GMTAt PMQs Sir Keir Starmer mentioned new research showing that the government has spent £130m on PR this year. Labour has now issued a press release with more details.The party says it is demanding “more transparency on taxpayer value for money on this spend”.Over £130m has been spent on communications consultancies since January, Labour has today reported. 23 different communications consultancies have been used by the UK government since the year began.As questions swirl around the government’s decision to spend £670,000 on PR consultants for one official, the analysis reveals the amount of taxpayer money being spent on agencies – including many with established links to senior Tories. Continue reading…