AROUND £64 billion of public cash has been “wastefully spent or dubiously allocated” since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures from a campaign group.
Best for Britain’s “Scandalous Spending Tracker” keeps tabs on the taxpayer money they claim has been frittered away by Johnson’s administration.
It includes £200,000 which was spent on installing traffic cones for Brexit traffic at Dover – which were only in place for one day - and the £163,000 spent on Union flags in just two years.
At the more costly end of the scale it lists the £4.3bn lost to Covid support fraud which Rishi Sunak allegedly wrote off, and the £8.7bn wasted on bad PPE deals.
The campaign group said that, after adding the £11bn which Sunak cost the taxpayer by failing to take out insurance on the national debt, the total “wastefully spent or dubiously allocated” now stands at just under £64bn.
Sunak had also already made the list after billing the taxpayer more than £1.3m for polling and focus groups on his image.
Best for Britain said that the tracker does not include the £31bn which the Conservatives’ Brexit is estimated to have cost the UK economy.
Cary Mitchell, Best for Britain’s chief operating officer, said: “At a time when people are struggling to feed their families and heat their homes, this Government’s carelessness with public money is utterly appalling and exposes their dishonesty when they say tax rises and cuts are needed.
“The law-breaking Johnson and Sunak are completely out of touch but our outdated electoral system keeps them in power with a minority of votes. Opposition parties must work together at the next election to ensure that they are removed.”
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel