Labour ministers spent £130,000 of taxpayers’ money decorating offices

Labour ministers have spent £130,000 redecorating their offices despite Rachel Reeves vowing to wage a war on government waste.

New figures reveal that 11 of Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench splashed out on new furniture, televisions and paint jobs after the election.

Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was the highest spender, racking up a £43,000 bill for renovation that was footed by the taxpayer.

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, who has backed more working from home for civil servants, splurged £16,000 on refurbishing offices outside of London.

It comes after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, vowed to take an “iron fist” to government waste and challenged Whitehall to find 5 per cent efficiency savings across departments.

Ms Reeves has ordered each department to submit a line-by-line breakdown of its spending so she can “crack down on non-priority spending”.

The new figures on office refurbishments came to light after Sir Ashley Fox, a Conservative MP, challenged the Government over the costs.

He said: “It’s a shame that the Chancellor didn’t use her ‘iron fists’ to squash departmental waste before her ministerial colleagues spent £130,000 on redecorating their offices.

“Free-Gear Keir has set the culture from the top, and the members of this Government are clearly more concerned with spending taxpayer money on themselves than they are looking for savings.”

The Department of Energy and Climate Change splashed £43,000 on renovations following July’s election, of which £28,700 went on “new furniture and fittings”.

Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was the next biggest spender, billing almost £34,000 to the taxpayer.

Almost half of that cost – some £16,500 – went on renovations to regional offices “to ensure ministers are able to work outside of London”.

It is understood that all of the money was spent upgrading a regional office in Manchester, a few miles from her constituency home, so that it can host ministerial meetings.

Among the spending revealed is the purchase of eight full-length mirrors; five at the Cabinet Office and three for the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice also spent money on a freezer, a new chair and two bookcases, while the Cabinet Office bought a new TV and three sets of drinks coasters.

At the Department for Education, run by Bridget Phillipson, three “low back, full upholstered meeting chairs” were bought for £542.50 each.

Similarly, at the Northern Ireland Office, where Hilary Benn is the minister, officials logged the purchase of a three seater sofa worth £811.14.

It separately emerged on Tuesday that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport splurged almost £1,200 on two luxury folders for carrying official papers.

It bought the pair, which cost £594 each, from Barrow Hepburn & Gale, a high-end leather goods company which makes ministers’ red boxes.

The department is run by Lisa Nandy, who has previously come under fire alongside other ministers for accepting free tickets to Taylor Swift.

Government departments routinely buy folders from the firm, though similar products are available from the House of Commons shop for just £30.

Asked if such spending was excessive, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said it was “up to departments” to identify where they can make savings.

“They’ll be able to look line-by-line, make sure every pound of government spending is being focused and delivering on the plan for change,” he said.

Almost half of government departments including the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence registered zero spending on refurbishments.

The Cabinet Office said spending at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was “higher than usual” because the department was given an extra minister by Sir Keir Starmer.

At the Ministry of Justice almost all of the £13,300 cost was spent on work like repainting walls, rewiring rooms and installing new electrical sockets.