London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 18, 2025

Labour accuse Tories of spending sprees on hotels, dining and gifts

Labour accuse Tories of spending sprees on hotels, dining and gifts

Labour has accused the Conservative government of overseeing "lavish spending" on hotels, hospitality and other costs using taxpayer-funded debit cards.

The bills have been highlighted in a Labour study of spending on government debit cards in 2021.

Examples of bills include £3,393 on 13 fine art photographs, and £23,457 on alcohol for UK embassies abroad.

The Conservatives branded Labour's analysis a "political stunt".

A Conservative Party spokesperson said Labour spent almost £1bn on the cards - known as government procurement cards (GPCs) - in 2009, when the party was last in government.

This spending was across the whole of the public sector, while Labour's analysis focused on 14 government departments, so the figures are not directly comparable.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak "has failed to rein in the culture of lavish spending across Whitehall on his watch".

In a 24-page document, titled the GPC Files, Labour included examples of government spending, including:

* The Treasury buying 13 fine art photographs from The Tate Gallery for £3,393

* £344,803 of card expenditure by Foreign Office diplomats in 2021 under the category "restaurants and bars"

* The Foreign Office spending £7,218 on a reception for Liz Truss, when she was foreign secretary

* The Ministry of Justice paying £4,019 for 850 branded USB cables for staff taking part in a virtual conference

* The Department of Health spending £59,155 on items of stationery in March 2021, compared to £1,470 in the whole of the rest of the year combined

Ms Rayner said her party's analysis showed "a scandalous catalogue of waste, with taxpayers' money frittered away across every part of government".

A Labour government would "get tough on waste, with an Office of Value for Money upholding transparency and high standards for all public spending, including on government procurement cards", she added.

Ms Rayner, who has claimed more than £2,000 worth of Apple products on expenses, defended herself against accusations of hypocrisy.

Speaking on Times Radio Ms Rayner said her spending was not "the same as millions of pounds that is being used on these credit cards in an inappropriate way".

"I'm actually using the equipment right now as I'm speaking to you on the iPad."

The Conservatives cut the number of cards in use and introduced a requirement for spending to be publicly declared, a government spokesman said.

The Cabinet Office said the cards can save time and money when used for one-off purchases and are considered to be an efficient way of paying for goods and services.

Transport minister Richard Holden said Labour had "wasted" civil servants time and "half-a-million pounds" uncovering the information was already publicly available.

"All of this data is publicly available online, it has been since 2012 - something which didn't happen under the last Labour government," he told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

"We publish it on a monthly basis."


'Value for money'


The cards were introduced by the government of former Labour prime minister Tony Blair in 1997 as a more convenient way to make low-value purchases.

They were made available to all public sector organisations, including central government departments, local authorities and the NHS.

The use of the cards has come under increased public and political scrutiny following a major scandal over expenses claims made by MPs in 2009.

In a report on GPCs in 2012, the National Audit Office said "there has been a lack of central oversight and control of the card, which has increased risks to value for money".

In its study of the cards, Labour analysed spending data for every major government department in 2021, apart from the Ministry of Defence.

The party obtained some of the data in statements written by ministers in response to parliamentary questions asked by Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general.

The 14 government departments - including the Treasury and Home Office - spent about £145.5m using GPCs in 2021, compared to £84.9m spent by the equivalent departments in 2010-11, according to Labour's analysis.

However, the analysis does not take into account inflation.

Labour have published a full analysis of the government's use of GPCs.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
×