Companies that donated to Labour were awarded £138million in contracts during the party's first year in power, a new report has shown.
The study by research group The Autonomy Institute investigated the link between donations from private businesses to major political parties in Britain and the awarding of public sector contracts.
It found over the last 25 years, £47million has been donated by companies who have received public contracts in return, totalling £60billion.
The report showed that eight companies which had donated over £580,000 to the Labour Party were awarded contracts worth just under £138million within two years of their contribution, between July 2024 and June 2025.
A total of 29 firms meanwhile donated nearly £11million to the Conservative Party and were then given contracts worth £2.3billion while the party was in Government, between May 2015 and July 2024.
Dr Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption said: "There is nothing more damaging to public trust than the perception that those with privileged access to those in power get privileged access to taxpayer-funded contracts.
"These findings show a systemic problem with the UK’s absurdly weak handling of conflicts of interest."
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Tax and spending changes being considered ahead of Budget - Rachel Reeves suggests on visit to Saudi Arabia
Tax and spending changes are being considered ahead of next month’s Budget, Rachel Reeves has suggested.
In an indication that some form of tax rises could be on the table, the Chancellor indicated the Government needed to ensure there was “sufficient headroom” above its spending plans and that its fiscal rules are met.
The Chancellor also suggested she was “confident” a trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) could be finalised, as she spoke at Fortune Magazine’s global forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ms Reeves has previously insisted that Labour’s manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT “stands” when questioned about how she will bridge a fiscal black hole in November.
WATCH: Steve Reed calls accidental release of migrant from prison 'catastrophic'
Steve Reed has called the accidental release from prison of a migrant who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl “catastrophic”.
The Housing Secretary said Justice Secretary David Lammy is expected to raise the matter in the Commons today.
“It’s catastrophic,” Mr Reed told GB News.
“David Lammy will be answering questions in the Commons today and he will be announcing the new checks that would be put in place to make sure this kind of thing cannot happen again.”
When told prison officers have raised concerns they do not have capacity for additional checks, Mr Reed said: “When the Justice Secretary stands up in the Commons and tells them they will carry out these checks to stop accidental releases, they will follow his orders.
“We will not tolerate this as a Government or as a country, seeing convicted criminals set loose by accident.
“Absolutely unacceptable.”
Kemi Badenoch says asylum hotels could be shut quickly if PM 'had the backbone'
Kemi Badenoch has spoken out after a report found billions of pounds of taxpayer money had been "wasted" on the asylum hotel system.
The Tory leader wrote to X: "Every asylum hotel could be closed quickly if Keir Starmer had the backbone to take difficult decisions.
"Only the Conservatives have a serious plan to: Leave the ECHR, establish a third country deterrent like Rwanda, create a Removals Force, deport every illegal arrival within a week.
"Only by having a real plan and the team to deliver that plan, will we ever get a grip on the immigration system and end asylum hotels once and for all."
WATCH: Andrew Griffith says 'heads should roll' after report finds billions of taxpayer's money 'wasted' on asylum hotel system
Housing Secretary brands criminal justice system 'broken' after asylum seeker mistakenly released from prison
Steve Reed has said the criminal justice system needs to be 'rebuilt from the bottom up'
|PA
Housing Secretary Steve Reed has said the criminal justice system needs to be "rebuilt from the bottom up" after the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu from prison.
Mr Reed said the debacle was a sign of a “broken” justice system.
"It wasn’t that he made an escape bid: he was released in a way that should not have happened," he told Sky News.
"Now, that is a sign, isn’t it, of a broken criminal justice system.
"But we know that, because when we were elected, the prisons were full up. There wasn’t room to house people who have got custodial sentences in the courts."
David Lammy faces backlash from prison governors after ordering strengthening of release checks on inmates
David Lammy is facing backlash from prison chiefs after ordering the "immediate strengthening" of checks on inmates upon their release.
The Justice Secretary announced plans for the new checks after Hadush Kebatu, an asylum seeker jailed for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford on Friday morning instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.
According to The Telegraph, one prison governor said: "I understand the Government is very eager to prevent this from happening again, but there’s an investigation which has only just been commissioned.
“Until that’s under way, the prison service won’t know what went wrong or whether the proposed checks are what are needed to prevent it happening again."
Another prison chief said it may be a "knee-jerk reaction" to prove to the public that the Government was taking action following the incident.
Officials at centre of collapsed China spy case to appear before parliamentary inquiry
Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash both denied charges under the Official Secrets Act
|PA
Senior officials at the heart of the collapsed China spying case will appear before a parliamentary inquiry today.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson took the decision to drop the case, blaming the evidence from deputy national security adviser (DNSA) Matt Collins for not demonstrating that China posed a threat to national security.
Both men will give evidence to MPs and peers on the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) this afternoon.
The collapse of the case against Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry – who both denied charges under the Official Secrets Act – has triggered a Westminster blame game.
The Conservatives have accused Sir Keir Starmer of deliberately collapsing the case to avoid damaging relations with Beijing while the Prime Minister has said the prosecution had to be based on the Tory position – which did not describe China as a threat – at the time of the alleged offences.