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When the Government decides how to spend our taxes, its first question should be: how do we deliver the best value for money?

And with taxes constantly going up, it’s never been more important for Ministers to get this right.

But instead of prioritising the taxpayers’ interests, Labour are bending the knee to the trade unions and imposing Left-wing ideology on businesses.

Last week, Louise Haigh – the convicted fraudster who now serves as Andy Burnham’s right-hand woman – announced new ‘social-value’ rules for government organisations to use when deciding which companies should get public contracts.

These rules are a trade union checklist that will drive up costs for businesses and raise prices (and future taxes) for taxpayers.

Businesses could be obliged to offer staff greater opportunities for flexible working – potentially leading to more working from home and four-day weeks that would harm productivity and profitability.

Under the new rules, suppliers bidding for government contracts may be forced to give unions substantial access to their staff, with union reps potentially even taking meetings during state-funded working hours.

And they will be rewarded if they ‘adapt their recruitment and retention procedures to help communities access, obtain and retain jobs’.

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart doing a media interview (pictured: February 2025)

This could open the door to yet more divisive identity politics in the private sector, with some groups being favoured over others for jobs.

What’s more, companies will be favoured if they ‘co-design’ their business plans with ‘community organisations’.

This might sound positive, but it’s the same toxic politicisation we have seen with police Independent Advisory Groups that are more focused on ideology than on getting the job done.

When weighing up which firms should win contracts, government departments award points to applicants. Under Labour’s new rules, 20 per cent of points will be awarded based on ‘social value’ priorities. That’s double the previous amount.

This is an enormous weighting to place on something that has no relationship with value for money.

All this on top of the vast pressure Labour has already placed on businesses with a National Insurance hike, a business rates raid and the disastrous Employment Rights Act.

Many have already been forced to lay off workers or close down completely.

We may have a new Prime Minister but it’s the same old Labour Party, forcing the rest of us to dance to the union barons’ tune and pay the price for their misguided priorities.

Alex Burghart is Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.