Questions have been raised about the government's commitment to tackling bureaucratic waste after it emerged that ministers have spent £130,000 ($165,000) on redecorating their offices since coming to power in July.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has also been questioned on her use of a £68,000 ($86,000) taxpayer-funded photographer.
The figures came to light after Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox submitted a series of written questions to the government asking how much had been spent on furniture, fittings, and refurbishment.
The Big Spenders
Topping the list is Ed Miliband's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which spent £42,000 ($53,000), nearly three-quarters of which went on "new furniture and fittings." The government defended the spending, citing Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to assign an extra minister to the department.
Angela Rayner's Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government was the second-largest spender, costing taxpayers almost £34,000 ($43,000), around half of which was used to outfit regional offices to allow ministers to work outside London.
In September, the TaxPayers' Alliance revealed that Rayner's ministry spent nearly £5,000 ($6,300) on office upgrades. The spending included seven fridges, nine wall clocks, six flag poles, and a deep clean of the Wolverhampton ministerial office.
Sir Ashley Fox criticised the expenditures, claiming they contradicted Chancellor Rachel Reeves' promise to cut unnecessary spending with an "iron fist." Reeves has urged all government departments to find efficiency savings of 5%.
Luxury Expenditures
'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."
Separately, it was revealed that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spent nearly £1,200 ($1,500) on just two folders to carry official documents. The folders, which cost £594 ($750) each, were purchased from luxury leather goods company Barrow Hepburn & Gale.
Conservative Refurbishment
This is not the first time the refurbishment of government buildings has drawn criticism. In 2021, the Electoral Commission fined the Conservative Party £17,800 ($22,700) for failing to accurately declare donations made by Lord Brownlow towards the cost of refurbishing then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat.
That refurbishment cost at least £112,000 ($143,000) and, while privately funded, raised concerns about the source of the funds and whether they were properly declared.
The revelations (past and current) have reignited debates over government accountability and the need for fiscal restraint.
As departments are urged to find savings, critics argue that lavish spending on refurbishments and luxury items undermines efforts to cut costs and erodes public trust in government leadership.
